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Atari Explorer Online Issue 1993 14
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:: Volume 2 - Issue 14 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 8 August 1993 ::
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:: ::
:: ATARI .............. News, reviews, & solutions ............ ATARI ::
:: EXPLORER ............ for the online Atari .......... EXPLORER ::
:: ONLINE ................. Community .............. ONLINE ::
:: ::
:: Published and Copyright (c) 1993 by Subspace Publishing ::
:: """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: Publisher ........................... Michael Lindsay EXPLORER ::
:: Editor .................................. Travis Guy AEO.MAG ::
:: News and Features Editor ............... Ron Kovacs Z-NET ::
:: Assistant Editor GEnie............... Ron Robinson EXPLORER.1 ::
:: Assistant Editor CompuServe......... Albert Dayes AEO.1 ::
:: Assistant Editor Delphi........ Andreas Barbiero AEO.2 ::
:: Atari Asylum ................... Gregg Anderson AEO.7 ::
:: Unabashed Atariophile ..... Michael R. Burkley AEO.4 ::
:: ::
:: Contributors ::
:: """""""""""" ::
:: Charmon Haines ::
:: ::
:: Telecommunicated to you via: ::
:: """""""""""""""""""""""""""" ::
:: GEnie: AEO.MAG ::
:: CompuServe: 70007,3615 ::
:: Delphi: AEO_MAG ::
:: Fnet: AEO Conference, Node 706 ::
:: AtariNet: AEO Conference, Node 51:1/10 ::
:: ::
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Table of Contents
* From the Editors ........................................ Summer breeze.
* Dateline: Atari! ....... Bob Brodie and some pizza in the office during
his FREE GEnie Real Time Conference.
* Atari Asylum ................ Falcon Screenblaster review, a Blue Ridge
Fest wrapup, monitored choices, and more
Falcon030 reports from Gregg.
* How to get the best from MultiTOS ........ Efficient multitasking using
Atari's new OS.
* The Unabashed Atariophile .......... The best in PD and Shareware files.
* EET's Atari Jaguar Report ............... An outsider's view of Atari's
hot new videogame system.
* Data Rescue 1.0 ........ Ron Robinson takes a look at this utility that
promises intelligent realtime data recovery.
* AEO Calendar of Events ................ Events, happenings in the World
Atari, and elsewhere.
* An American's View of Japan ............ Andreas sends the first of his
reports from the Far East.
* GEnie News .......................... New files & happenings on Atari's
Official Online Resource.
* Developing News ..................................... DATAlite from ORA
Flash II Upgrade Notice
Pacific Software's Author Hunt
* Shutdown ...............................................................
--==--==--==--==--
||| From the Editors ....... Atari Explorer Online: The Next Generation
||| Travis Guy
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.MAG Delphi: AEO_MAG Internet: AEO.MAG@GENIE.GEIS.COM
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Hot August Nights have arrived (plug not intended) and life continues
its journey. Congress has passed a President's budget for the first
time in over a decade. Some say it's a scandal. There's a(nother)
scandal brewing in Hollywood. At least there's general agreement on
whats going on there. Flood waters are beginning to recede in parts
of the American Midwest. No scandal here... yet?
So, what's happening at the offices of Atari Explorer Online? In
comparison, not much. News and Features Editor Ron Kovacs has taken
some time off for vacation (meaning no Z*NET Newswire this week),
while Publisher Mike Lindsay has taken the week to tend to his family.
So here I sit, holding the bag; manning the fort alone. <grin> I won't
let all this power go to my head. I know it's not the bigwigs who make
an issue; the thanks go to the writers. Y'all make it easy for me
every time!
There's an interesting issue of AEO here for you. First up is the
transcript of last Friday's GEnie Real Time Conference with Bob
Brodie. Following that is another look into Gregg Anderson's "Atari
Asylum." (Ummm, Gregg, where do you keep the cheesesticks?) In the
Asylum this go-around are notes on the Blue Ridge 'Fest, a review of
Compo's Falcon Screenblaster (Times change rapidly- an update of the
Screenblaster software has rendered this review inaccurate in places.
There will be an updated review in the next issue!), and a look at
expanded monitor choices for your Atari computer.
Tim Wilson has some tips on using MultiTOS... Michael Burkley has
found more really neat files he'd like to share with you... A reprint
of the Electronic Engineering Times' story on the Atari Jaguar...
Andreas took a spare moment in his tour of duty in the Orient to send
a postcard.... Just go ahead and read it - it's waiting for you.
Enjoy the issue. Enjoy the World Atari. Enjoy the season. Enjoy life.
Enjoy. Take care.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Dateline: Atari!
||| The Aug 6 GEnie RTC with Bob Brodie, Director of Communications
/ | \ -----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
=========================================================================
(C) 1993 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May
be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on
GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. To sign
up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection
type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt.Type XTX99437,GENIE
and press [RETURN]. The system will prompt you for your information.
==========================================================================
Special Edition Real Time Conference
Friday, August 6, 1993.
Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie
Director of Communications
Atari Corp.
Host - Lou Rocha
<[HOST] ST.LOU> Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome our
11th consecutive Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie, Director of
Communications for Atari Corp. Before we get too far along
tonight, I would like to recognize the interest and dedication
that Bob has shown to GEnie users by attending these monthly
sessions.
Over the past year Bob has brought us news of all the happenings
at Atari - from the development and delivery of the Falcon to more
recent news about the Jaguar. Each session has been thoughtfully
prepared with detailed files full of the most recent Atari news.
Obviously, Bob has worked hard to prepare that information for us.
Bob has also been happy to answer all manner of questions from the
guests who have attended each of the Real Time Conferences. His
knowledge of the hardware and software for the Atari platform is
vast and Bob is very skillful in sharing it with faithful
Atarians. He has also brought along some special guests like CEO
Sam Tramiel, James Grunke (Atari Music) and Eric Smith (MultiTOS
author) to share 'the hotseat'. We have enjoyed their
contributions on those occasions.
The Dateline Atari! transcripts have been downloaded up to 750
times each as folks from all over gather these valuable sources of
information. The transcripts are also carried regularly in Atari
Explorer Online and, until recently, the former Z*NET magazine.
These transcripts are also downloaded on scores of local bulletin
boards and occasionally find their way into user group newsletters
and magazines. Some of them even appear in such notable Atari
magazines as Current Notes.
Tonight promises to be another notable evening. For the first
time, Dateline Atari! is a FREE Real Time Conference, courtesy of
GEnie's Hot Summer Nights and RoundTable Sysop, Darlah Potechin.
Thank you to GEnie and Darlah for making this possible.
<BOB-BRODIE> Welcome to the August installment of Dateline Atari,
here on our official online resource, GEnie. As always, it is a
great pleasure to have this time to spend with you. I hope that
you have come to look forward to it as I have. I'm grateful once
again to have my good friend Lou Rocha moderating the conference
tonight...and without any further ado, let's get started.
Much of our efforts here at Atari right now are focused on three
primary products, the Lynx, the Atari Falcon030, and the soon to
be released Jaguar.
On the Lynx side of things, we have just released another game for
the Lynx entitled "GORDO 106". The setting for the game is deep in
the cavernous sub-basement of N. Human, Inc., trapped in cage No.
106, a poor, brutally exploited lab monkey named Gordo lives a
life of lonely misery until an experimental nuclear potion gives
Gordo the cunning intellect that he needs to free his friends and
escape from N. Human. In the game, you play the part of Gordo as
he trys to escape from N. Human Labs, freeing his other animal
friends and getting revenge on the wicked lab scientists as he
seeks his freedom. This game is in stock now, and the suggested
retail price for it is $39.99. Remember if your local retailer
doesn't have the game, you can purchase it directly from Atari by
calling our 800 order line number: 1-800-221-EDGE. This is a very
enjoyable game.
We will be in the next couple of weeks be uploading some screen
shots of Gordo 106 in an issue of Atari Explorer On-line. The
files will be GIFs created from slides. Thanks to Ron Kovacs of
Z*Net News Service for his efforts in creating these GIF files.
I'm sure you will all enjoy the high quality of these picture
files!!! They will give you an excellent idea of what to expect
from the game!
The next title due up for the LYNX is Jimmy Connors Tennis. This
is a terrific game, using lots of great sound effects. The game is
four megs, one of our larger titles for the Lynx to date.
For the Atari Falcon030, most of the product shortages on this
product have been alleviated. We have a good supply of Falcons in
the following configurations: one meg of ram, no hard disk, 4 megs
of ram and an 80 meg hard disk, and four meg of ram, no hard disk
drive. Most of the "hiccups" revolving around getting our software
products out the door have been resolved...so Atari Works, Speedo
GDOS and MultiTOS are now readily available to our customers that
have not purchased an Atari Falcon030, but would still like to
have these products available to them. We hope that you will take
a look at these products. Remember that there are screen shots
available of them in back issues of Atari Explorer Online
Magazine, available here in the libraries on GEnie. If you haven't
seen what Atari Works looks like, or have questions about how
fonts are installed in Speedo GDOS, these picture files might just
have the answers that you're looking for before purchasing the
products.
We are starting to hear of more third party products being created
for the Atari Falcon030. One of the ones that I'm looking forward
to is from one of the original ST developers, Migraph! Kevin and
Liz Mitchell are close to releasing a color hand scanner for the
Falcon030. We're working on a number of entertainment products for
the Falcon030, including games that will be using the exciting new
controller that will be shared by both the Falcon030 and the
Jaguar. We expect to be marketing this controller in the Fall,
about the same time as the Jaguar launch. Our projection is that
we will be making the controller available for approximately $29,
and bundle a game with it for an additional cost. At this point in
time, the exact title is under discussion still, but one of the
leading candidates to be bundled is Llamazap! from Jeff Minter of
the UK. It's a terrific looking game, getting rave reviews from
everyone that has seen portions of the beta versions of the game.
Pacific Software Supply has announced that they are going to be
carrying a product that will allow you to use the Kodak Photo CD
with your Atari Falcon030. This is called PHOTO SHOW, and allows
you to view the images while creating scripts for the sound files
to be played at the same time with CD quality sound. PHOTO SHOW
will work on RGB, VGA, or broadcast monitors, and you can even
record your slide show to your VCR easily. Suggested retail price
of Photo Show is $35 US.
Later this month, we will be hosting a meeting with Video Game
Publications to begin the roll-out of the Atari Jaguar. The amount
of interest that we have had in this machine is nothing less than
amazing! We've been getting a steady stream of callers that are
looking to become dealers, and some of the brightest stars in the
gaming world are lining up to become developers for the Jaguar. I
will be speaking to Sam Tramiel to see if we can schedule him for
an online conference in the next month or so. He is very excited
about this product, and I know that he would enjoy having an
opportunity to visit with you to discuss personally all of the
wonderful features in the Jaguar. I'm hopeful that his schedule
will permit us to do that next month.
With that, I'm ready to take questions, Lou! Let's get started!!!
<[HOST] ST.LOU> OK Bob.... our first question comes from Hydraxxus
in Hawaii.
<[Hydraxxus] J.GERMAN3> I noticed there are no Falcons on Oahu but
there are on Maui ;) and that the stock went up to 4. Is this a
result of the Jaguar announcement or Falcon sales? What games have
you seen and how will they compete with current game machines?
<BOB-BRODIE> I believe that the rise in the stock price is due to
the joint... announcement of the Jaguar, and also the
manufacturing agreement with IBM. To me, it is a terrific
validation of the product, and Atari Corp. to have such an
impressive strategic partner as IBM. I have seen about 7 titles
for the Jaguar, most of them still are using "working titles",
except as noted in the press release which I've already uploaded
here some time ago. They are by and large, breath-taking games!
Some of the finest scrolling, speed, texture mapping, and real
time effects that I have ever seen on the system. At some point
after our media day, I will be uploading some screen shots of
Jaguar games. They will most likely be 24 bit Targa pictures, or
PCX files.
<[Graham] G.NORTON> Hi Bob, Thanks for joining us. Most of my
questions relate to the Falcon. The first being about
service...what is Atari's policy on Warranty work? Why does
everything have to be send to Atari? Also what advertising is
Atari planning on in the near future... back to school stuff and
all. Also how does Atari view Apple's new products with the DSP's
etc.
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Graham. Re our warranty work policy, on the
Falcon030, we don't require that the unit be sent back to
Sunnyvale for work. We recently had a revision in our return
policy, which you should be hearing about very soon (it appears
that you haven't already heard about it). Basically, for all in
warranty machines the dealer will determine which of the major 6
components is defective: The HD, Keyboard, Motherboard PCBA, Power
Supply, Ram board, or floppy disk drive. The dealer will be able
to return the defective component to Sunnyvale, and exchange the
defective component to get the customer out the door quickly. The
defectives will still be sent to us, but I'm sure that you agree
that is the logical way for the defective portions of the unit to
be handled: send 'em back to the manufacturer!! Re advertising, we
are not prepared to embark on an ambitious advertising program at
this point in time that we had expected to be able to do. The
continuing poor economy continues to wreak havoc on ALL computer
manufacters, not just Atari. I'm sure that you have heard about
the layoffs and losses at both IBM and Apple as a result from
their reduced sales. We will review the evolving changes in the
marketplace, and respond accordingly. In the meantime, we do have
a market development fund program which is on a proposal basis by
the dealers. Some use it, some don't. It's really up to them. No
comment on the 040 machines, sorry. Re Apple...they've got an
awful lot of problems right now, and I'm really not sure that the
DSP units are a prime product for them. They are putting a lot of
effort into Newton it seems.
<[Bman] B.AEIN> Has Atari been looking at using the Power PC chips
for future Falcons? Is there any time frame for a F040? Who will
carry the Jag this fall? Has Atari been pushing Jag developers to
make lynxing/multi Jag games? Any fighting games? How will the Jag
games be priced?
<BOB-BRODIE> Yes, we have had some discussions about using other
chips like the Power PC for our products in the future. We try to
stay abreast of all the innovations that are occuring in the
market in order to ensure that our hardware will continue to be a
cutting edge product. However, we haven't made a commitment to
using the Power PC for anything...it's just a topic of discussion
at this point. Re the F040, sorry, as I told Graham, no comment on
that product...Please remember that we haven't even announced that
we are officially doing the machine, just that we've been working
on one.
Re the Jaguar: At CES virtually every major retailer indicated
that they are very interested in carrying the Jaguar. We are
finalizing our sales plans on the Jaguar, and are already in
discussions with many of those retailers. The high end of the
Jaguar games is about $69 at this point.
<[HOST] ST.LOU> Next is Ron Whittam of the ABUG group in Idaho.
Ron is a new GEnie user.
<[Ron - ABUG] R.WHITTAM> Bob & Sam: With NO DEALERS in Boise,
Idaho and no means to travel out of state how can the members of
our User Group (ABUG) get a Falcon?? AND will Atari still produce
fine software compatible with the ST, like Atari Works?
<BOB-BRODIE> Ron, I'm sure that the travel problem will resolve
itself over a period of time. What we will do is refer members of
your user group to the next closer dealer to them, and then permit
that dealer to mail order a Falcon to them.
Re other software, right now we are planning on an upgrade for
Atari Works, but don't have any other projects on the burner at
this time that I can discuss. However, the clock is certainly
ticking on the standard 8Mhz ST. You really should be looking to
the third party market for solutions to upgrade the machines to a
better level of performance to ensure that the unit will continue
to be serviceable. Or get a Falcon!!! :)
<[HOST] ST.LOU> Well done, Ron. Our next guest is R.SATTLER from
Illinois.
<[Mr.X] R.SATTLER> Hi Bob. How many Falcons were sold in the US
with 63 meg hard drives? And in the interest of customer
satisfaction, will Atari offer an upgrade path to those who were
unfortunate enough to get the 63 meggers?
<BOB-BRODIE> We never reveal sales figures, Rob. Sorry. And there
are no plans at present to upgrade the 65 meg drives.
<[Doug] D.DOBBS> Bob, I need to find a good Atari repair shop in
north Jersey for my sister's 1040. Her monitor went "phzzt" but we
can't find a shop to fix it. Any chance you could help us out?
Thanks for being here tonight.
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Doug, I am afraid that I don't know North Jersey
from South Jersey...from where I sit, it's all New Jersey. How
about this: Software Spectrum in North Plainfield 908-561-8777
<[HOST] ST.LOU> Thanks Bob. Charles Smeton from NewSTar is next!
<[NewSTar] C.S.SMETON> Bob, has Atari reconsidered its policy of
not releasing the authorized dealer list so that developers can
make contact and send promotional literature to dealers?
<BOB-BRODIE> No, Charles. Garry Tramiel is very firmly against
that. We will continue to be happy mailing that information on the
behalf of the developers to our dealers, as well as continue
discussions in a productive fashion with the IAAD as to how we can
best handle that situation. I know this isn't the ideal answer
that you had hoped for. However, I am confident that we'll be able
to work something out, like referring you to our rep firms to fill
out their product knowledge as well. The IAAD is a first rate
organization, so I don't envision any difficulties in working with
them at all.
<[HOST] ST.LOU> Thanks Charles and now we have Eric Zrath-Smiley
of the Gaming Digest!
<[Eric @ STGD] ZRATH-SMILEY> Bonsoir Bob, I have 2 questions
regarding the Jaguar: 1) A software developer friend of mine is
interested in the Jaguar. He is already doing CD-ROM and 3DO
development. He tried to get some info from IBM themselves, but
got nowhere. Could you tell me who should be contacted at Atari
for developer stuff, so I can pass the info on to him? 2) What is
the maximum memory capacity of the Jaguar cartridges?
<BOB-BRODIE> You're friend is mistaken to be contacting IBM, their
job is to only BUILD the units, and distribute them for us...they
are not in charge of development issues. Have him contact Bill
Rehbock at Atari, and I would recommend that he send a fax to him.
He's a tough guy to catch on the phone right now, or try sending
Bill GEnie mail. Re the Jaguar carts, :) let's save that for
another time to discuss. The answer is very interesting indeed!
<[Dale] D.ELLIS16> Bob thanks for being here! How is the Falcon
selling as of today's date? And what is the status of the voice
mail system for the Falcon? Who do I talk to about becoming a
dealer? It's not just a computer, it's a future!
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Dale, we have a rep firm that is handling all of
our dealers in Florida. Send me email and I promise that I will
provide you their contact information there. I'm afraid that I
have CPUs and HDs spread all over the office tonight, so I can't
readily get at the list. The Falcon is selling well, given the
state of the economy. Re the DSP modem, there have been some
delays in getting it ready by our strategic third party partner
that we have, but we remain committed to the modem. We hope to see
it by late 3-Q.
<[HOST] ST.LOU> Sign him up! :-) Our next guest is Texas Atarian
Greg Matthijetz!
<G.MATTHIJETZ> Was there any plan for the Falcon and Jaguar to be
synergistic? Will there be the possiblilty of connecting the two
in any way?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Greg, yes there are discussions about ways to have
the Jaguar connected together. But I wouldn't look for that
feature to be implemented in the first group of titles that will
be available. Look for that a little down the road.
<[Eric] E.JOLLEY> Hi Bob! Q: Are any of the Japanese game giants
(Capcom, Konami, etc.) Jag developers? No specific names needed,
just curious if Atari considers them important to third party
support (I do).
<BOB-BRODIE> We consider them very important to the market, and
while I cannot confirm on deny any of the names that you've
mentioned at this point in time, we will be doing press releases
later on as to who some of the strategic partners are that we have
enlisted for software development on the Jaguar.
<[George] G.IKEN> Any word on Houston dealers... Shirley Taylor
says any TEXAS dealer can sell Falcons at the Houston show. How
about after the show...Phone orders??
<BOB-BRODIE> None yet specifically in Houston, George. Our policy
is that if you don't have a dealer in your city, we will refer you
to the next closest dealer. So for the purposes of your show,
yes... we will be happy to authorize any dealer in Texas to attend
your show and sell Falcons there. Please have them contact me in
advance so I can give them written authorization for their files.
<[Hassen] H.HAMMOUD> I just bought a Portfolio, and I love it. I'm
showing it to all of my friends and co-workers, and they are
interested in the unit. Where does Atari Corp. stand on the
Portfolio. Are more available? Also, will Atari plan to use their
64 bit RISC chip in any computers...perhaps as an add on board for
the Falcon's processor slot?
<BOB-BRODIE> Yes, we still have Portfolios available for sale. We
have not pursued any additional peripherals for it at this time,
though. Again, the hardware market is just not good for anyone at
this point in time, and the Portfolio is no exception,
unfortunately. Re the 64 bit RISC chip in the Jaguar, we are
reviewing all of the options for using this chipset, including
computers.
<[sanjay] S.AGARWAL> I am interested in purchasing Atari Works,
but if I purchase the Falcon later, with hard drive can I get a
rebate for the software ?
<BOB-BRODIE> No, I'm sorry, that is not our policy. Atari Works on
the Falcon is something that we provide free of charge to every
Falcon owner.
If you purchase it previous to your purchase of the Falcon, then
you will have to discuss that matter with your dealer. It would be
prudent to conduct both sales with the same retailer. :)
<[Jeff] J.WHITE99> Since discussion at SIGGRAPH this week centered
around 3DO by SGI,SUN, and their partners is it fair to assume
they have not been addressed as potential Jag partners. Also there
were some Falcon remarks made at Newtek's party that were
reflective of consumer concern over expandability and audio
performance. Remarks?
<BOB-BRODIE> It's interesting to note that a recent issue of Game
Pro Magazine made note of the many MultiMedia projects that 3DO
has announced, but the distinct lack of Shooters, fighters,
etc....i.e. GAMES! As to the discussions that SGI and Sun might
make re 3DO, I really have no comment. Newtek is a long time Amiga
developer, and I would not realistically expect them to comment
favorably on _ANY_ Atari product that could hurt their most
important strategic alliance that they have.
We take care to ensure that our development partners on the Jaguar
understand _VERY CLEARLY_ how important non-disclosure is to us.
We don't _WANT THEM_ talking about the system at a party at an
industry trade show....today anyway. :)
<[HOST] ST.LOU> Makes sense.... Sam Rapp is next
<[Sam030] SAM-RAPP> Hi Bob! You are missed in the Tuesday
Conferences over on that 'other' system... My question is one that
is on everyone's mind around here... There has been a lot of
frustration with Atari's supporters for some time now... We have
lost a lot of good people to other platforms... It seems that
although Atari has made some superior products, it's just never
built the momentum to regain the market it once had. So, the big
question is: Is this FINALLY going to be the YEAR of ATARI? Also,
my Falcon has TOS 4.02, can I get 4.04 without having to pay an
arm and a leg?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Sam, re that "other system" with the Tuesday night
COs... they are having their own growth problems! GEnie might be
slow at times, but I couldn't get on to Delphi because there
wasn't an available node!! I was shocked. I've passed on my very,
very frustrating experiences in attemtping to get online there to
Gordie, and I'm very hopeful that he will ask them to address it
soon. Re the year of Atari...I really hate that phrase. I do
expect to have a very successful fourth quarter, although the
balance sheet won't reflect it because of the heavy promotional
costs asssociated with the Jaguar rollout. But it should set the
stage for a very exciting 1994. Re TOS, when I last discussed the
various different Falcon TOS's with Bill Rehbock, he told me that
there were really no major changes from TOS 4.1 to TOS 4.04 that
FPATCH doesn't handle. But if you really want to get the latest
ROM, I believe that the cost of that is $59. Not even close to one
arm! :)
<M.SILVERSTE3> Hi Bob, What kinds of Video Digitizers/Frame
grabbers are currently available for Falcons that will totally
support True Color?? Are they all cartridge based? Is there any
pricing you can give and will VIDI pro from Rombo Scotland be
doing anything in this arena?? Also, can we expect any news on
surprises for next month's Glendale show?? (At least give us one
surprise??) Will there be plenty of Falcons to obtain by then?? I
really hope and expect the biggest turnout yet this year and am
looking forward to it. Hope to see you there!!
<BOB-BRODIE> Didn't we say one question???? :) :) :) :)
<[HOST] ST.LOU> Pick a question! ;-)
<BOB-BRODIE> OK, re the frame grabbers, I recall hearing that
ROMBO was going through a re-organziation some time ago, so I
really haven't heard anything from them in a long time. The latest
that I have heard is that Overscan from Germany is going to be
doing a video frame grabber and selling it in the US via COMPO
Software. As I indicated earlier, there are plenty of Falcons now,
and our friends in Los Angeles are blessed with a number of really
fine dealers in the area. I'm sure that they will ALL be looking
to attend the Glendale Show as well. I always look forward to this
show, it's like old home week for me. I will be speaking to COMPO
very soon to see if they plan on having at least a prototype
available at the show.
<[D.A.K.] D.KAUFMAN> Will there ever be a hot Atari notebook for
musicians? I believe there is a market for this since I've heard
and read the Pow*rbook works poorly with MIDI. Greetings Bob from
NYC, home of the Jaguar launch!
<BOB-BRODIE> We're really focusing on the Jaguar and the Falcon
right now. The plans for the ST Book rework have been tabled until
we have the Jaguar done.
<[Randy] R.PERRY4> With the recent lowering of Apple prices, their
Centris 610 4/80 is selling for about the same price as an Atari
Falcon 4/80(after rebate), and the Centris is a 20 Mhz 68040
machine. Any plans for lowering Falcon prices to stay competitive?
<BOB-BRODIE> No, the Centris is pursuing a different market than
we are with the Falcon. Even though they have lowered the price on
their hardware, they still don't have the DSP chip onboard, so it
is not truly comparable to the Falcon. Our dealers are not
reporting any problems with comparison shoppers using the Centris
as a comparison.
<G.NORTON> Bob, Does Atari plan on getting a service rep. Also any
word on a Canadian (non-music) rep firm. And finally I have to say
the Jag. is looking awfully exciting from a sales perspective!
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi Graham, we have a Manager of Quality Assurance
that will be assuming the mantle of the service rep. He will be
the one that will be contacting you with the service policies that
we discussed during your last question. :)
We've discussed an non-music rep for Canada, but haven't been able
to work anything out yet on that front. I'd certainly like to do
so, personally.
I'm pleased to hear your reaction to the Jaguar...it's even more
exciting to see!! I'm really looking forward to uploading those
Targa pics later on....really impressive graphics!!! <D.MUNSIE> Hi
Bob, could you please make an educated guess on the number of...
Falcons in use by XMAX 93 and also any comments on the rumor....
of a Falcon or Jaguar card for the PC's? Thanks
<BOB-BRODIE> Sorry, Dave. No comment on the number of machines
sold. Re the rumor of a Falcon or Jaguar card for the PCs, we've
said before that we feel that the Jaguar chipset is a good
candidate for being utilized on computers, and certainly there are
enough PCs out there to make a PC card something worthy of at
least giving some serious consideration to.
<[Glenn] G.GORMAN2> Bob, I'm being transferred to Nashville,
Tennessee. How can I get a listing of dealers and user groups in
that area.
<BOB-BRODIE> Glenn, I don't have the user group list on the system
that I am working from tonight. For the dealer, try The Music Man
in Nashville. I can send you the phone number and address in email
if you drop me a line.
<[/sen 21] C.CASSADAY> Hi Bob! (grin) We are still waiting on news
for the proposed dealer in SA, TX. I must commend the patience of
the individual trying to obtain an Atari dealership. Please help
us!!!! <BOB-BRODIE> Chris, we are trying to, but it would be
inappropriate of me to discuss any problems with a particular
dealer's application on a national forum like this. I have spoken
to him a number of times, and he certainly seems like a fine man.
I also recognize that our present staffing situation makes us
difficult to reach and a certain amount of intolerance to delays
is reasonable on his part. :)
<[Neal-J&J's] N.BAKER4> Hi Bob! Quick question, with the
announcement of the new Developer's CD Rom, and Walnut Creek's new
Atari disk. Is there any plans for a new CD Rom Driver for the
ST's? Meta Dos and even ICD's new driver have got some problems.
Also, thanks for the great support you guys have provided over the
last few months, you guys are getting it together!
<BOB-BRODIE> The developer CD will come with a floppy diskette
with the driver software that you will need to use with it, Neal.
That will most likely be a MiNT driver, and a MetaDOS driver. If
you have specific bug reports, I know that Mike Fulton would
really appreciate getting them. You can reach him here on GEnie as
MIKE-FULTON.
<[Steve] S.ELEK> Bob, I was disappointed that you did not appear,
nor any saleable FALCON030's nor any saleable LYNex at the 7/31
MIST AtariFest. Will there be any near-term Atari support of
substance for users groups?
<BOB-BRODIE> Steve, I apologize for the confusion about the MIST
Show. I have yet to attend a single Atarifest this year ANYWHERE!
I will certainly be at the Glendale Show, but only because it is a
short drive (five hours) from here, and I don't need an expense
account for something like that...it's home, and I can do a very
low budget trip there. Indy and others are another matter. We
have, as part of our expense trimming at Atari, curtailed most of
the travel throughout the company.
Re the Falcons and the Lynxes, I feel compelled to point out that
we would NOT have sold those at the show even had I attended. This
is a job of both the show promoters, and the retailers that are
doing the show. I do recall that last year there were a number of
people that commented on the presence at the MIST Show of the
latest games, but the same people didn't purchase the games there.
That tends to chill the interest of a retailer to return to a show
if he doesn't have good results there. Had we been approached by a
authorized Falcon dealer to attend the show, we certainly would
have approved it.
<[Jeff] J.WHITE99> I would just like to publicly clarify that it
was an attendee, not Newtek, who was asking me questions at
Siggraph. Also I would like to publicly commend you, Bob, as well
as the portions of the staff at Atari that I deal with frequently,
on the Herculean efforts you all have been pleasuring us with of
late.
<BOB-BRODIE> Ah, ok...thanks Jeff! I still don't see SGI and Sun
as big players in the home entertainment market, which is really
where we expect the Jaguar to shine.
<[Bman] B.AEIN> Will the Jag have a mascot? Will there be a 14 meg
no HD F030 for sale?
<BOB-BRODIE> Not exactly, but there are plans for one of the games
to have some "cat like" :) characters in them. No plans for a 14
meg no hd Falcon, sorry.
<[token8bit] ANIMATSURI> Is Atari condering selling the rights to
its now dead 8bit line? I'm sure they can use the spare change.
;^)
<BOB-BRODIE> We are still selling them (believe it or not) in some
parts of the world. They simply refuse to die altogether. :) If
you'd care to make an offer, I'm sure Sam would be willing to
consider it. For the US, my personal opinion is that they are no
longer competitive for new sales.
<H.VANEYKEN> I have an STe (4 meg) with TOS 1.6. Could I with
MultiTOS run two or more GEM programs at a time and see them both
in separate windows? For example, a wordprocessor and a drawing
program. Would it be possible (in principle) to pipe info?
<BOB-BRODIE> Yes, it is possible. But you must remember that on a
68000 based unit has NO hardware based memory protection, so there
is a much greater possibiliy of crashes than on a 030 based unit.
It will also be slow on an 8Mhz machine, so I urge you to upgrade
to a faster machine, perhaps with a Tiny Turbo, Turbo030, or one
of the other fine products from Fast Tech.
<[fugitive] E.LIN1> Could you list all the chips that will be in
the Jag? Will it have a 64 bit graphics processor only or will it
be a true 64 bit machine?
<BOB-BRODIE> I could, but then Sam would kill me. Unless Leonard
got to me first. I can handle Richard Miller, though. :)
Seriously, it is a true 64 bit machine, including a 64 bit bus.
Later on this month, we'll be releasing more press materials on
the Jaguar, I'm certain that they will also have that informatin
in AEO.
<[Tony @ Canoe] A.RIDLEY1> could you tell us who Atari is planning
to sell Falcons to? Who is the future Atari user? Also would
Atari consider licensing the Jag Chipset? or any other chipset?
<BOB-BRODIE> Tony, we have several different markets for the
Falcon. We are of course, still very much active in the music
world. Our systems are the preferred units by many professionals.
I expect that their reasons to choose Atari will become even more
compelling with the coming of some new, high end software later
this year, like Cubase Audio for Falcon. This product will set new
standards for musical applications. We also still very much
believe that the machine represents an innovative method for
personal multimedia applications, although some of the key
products related to that have been slow to come to the market. As
a rule, we don't necessarily say "This is what we want to sell to"
but rather we look for alliances with key developers that have a
vision for how their product can give people a reason to choose
Atari over another brand. There are some graphic applications that
do that on the Falcon now, but they are not available as readily
as we would like them to be ....so to an extent, we don't control
who the future users will be nearly as much as the developers do.
At least in my opinion. :) Re the Jag licensing...we like to talk.
We're always willing to discuss any reasonable proposals with
anyone.
<J.BATTEY1> Will anyone from Atari officially be at the Houston
show & should the folks at Kodak's 800 number have known about the
Falcon & Photo Show before I told them? Are you targeting the
Cable TV industry? John L. ?
<BOB-BRODIE> Re the Houston Show, I'm thinking of using some of
the frequent flyer mileage that I've accumulated and coming to the
Houston Show. I love the city, and it's always been a very
enjoyable visit for me.
Re the Kodak 800 number....yes, they should know about it. They
are not only registered Atari developers, they were asked about
the Falcon MONTHS ago, during a RTC on another network, which
shall remain nameless. :)
Re Cable TV Industry, not necessarily with the Falcon, but with
the Jaguar certainly.
<L.SMITH70> Could you give us an idea of what the Jaguar casing
will look like? *slobber* :)
<BOB-BRODIE> Later on, like a month...maybe less, we'll be
uploading some files that will show you all that stuff. Including
screen shots from the games.
<[Harvey] H.WOLFE1> Bob, I live in Toronto and I was planning on
buying MultiTos from a local dealer. However, so far I still can't
get MultiTos from Compuworld or Replay Entertainment. Should I
just give up and order from TOAD by mail order or is it likely to
arrive in Toronto soon? Secondly, if I ever manage to buy MultiTos
or Speedo GDOS, is Atari going to be making minor upgrades
available either free or for a nominal amount; or am I going to
have to buy an entire new version each time there is an upgrade?
This was annoying enough when I had to buy TOS 3.06 in order to
use a 1.4 megabyte drive, even though in all other respects my TOS
3.01 was satisfactory. However, I do understand it being necessary
when dealing with ROM's. But this would be completely
unsatisfactory if it is also the way that minor upgrades to Speedo
GDOS or MultiTos will be handled.
<BOB-BRODIE> Harvey, we sell to a number of sources, including
distributors like Pacific Software Supply. There is nothing
stopping your dealers in Toronto from ordering the product from
them. We have it in stock, and have been shipping. We are doing
NOTHING to prevent them from ordering it, so it's not like we are
trying to boycott Toronto from MultiTOS or Speedo. I guess what
I'm really trying to get across is that we have no control over
their ordering habits/abilities/desires. There are plenty of
people on line that have the products...I really am at a loss of
what else to say about it.
Re the upgrades, without knowing what the upgrades are...major or
minor, it's impossible for me to give you a realistic assesment of
what the cost might be. I'm not aware of any immediate plans for
an upgrade to SpeedoGDOS at this point, <[Lee Johnson]
L.JOHNSON13> Bob.. congrats on still being with Atari, and not
leaving soon like other Atari execs. We in Champaign, IL
appreciated your visit, too.. OK.. I can order a 1 meg no HD
falcon right now, yes?
Someone just told me that if I have a local dealer, I MUST go
through them... but I don't know if/where my local dealer is.. can
I use mail order, or how can I find out where my local dealer is?
Also, what's the price of a 1 meg no HD falcon, and is it
hard/easy to install a HD later?
<BOB-BRODIE> We have an abundant supply of one meg Atari
Falcon030s in stock, so they are indeed readily available. The
MSRP is $799 for the one meg units. The HD is readily handled by
using the SCSI port and hooking up an external SCSI disk drive. Re
the dealer.....you have an excellent VAR in the area, let me ask
her to contact me, and we'll see what we can do to help you.
(Pssssstt- Dorothy! Call me about this, ok? ;))
<[HOST] ST.LOU> Dale Ellis has the honor of asking the last
question tonight, Bob.
<[Dale] D.ELLIS16> Bob, Do you have a presentation date on the
Jaguar? And a firm shipping date? In other words; When can I
actually get one? Maybe a NLT date. Do you have the names of any
dealers on the Space Coast of Florida? And any plans to market any
hardware-software in the former Soviet states? Luv that Lynx!!!!!
;-)
<BOB-BRODIE> Dale, the plans for the Jaguar rollout are for it to
be sold in NYC and San Francisco over the holiday season. The rest
of the country will have them available in 1994, so if you're in
the Space Coast of Florida...1994. We don't have a firm shipping
date that we will release at this point in time publically, sorry.
Re the Soviets, former Soviets...that is a task that we have
delegated to our subsidaries overseas. Which I will gladly allow
them to embrace without any interference on any kind from me. :)
Seriously, our Germany office handles that area, and if it will
make sense, and sales, then I am certain that they will pursue it
vigorously.
<[HOST] ST.LOU> Bob, just a short thank you and goodbye tonight.
You must be exhausted. Let's chat about something special for the
anniversary edition of Dateline Atari next month. OK? Goodnight
and thanks again. GA
<BOB-BRODIE> Thanks, Lou. Has it been a year already???? Amazing!
I really do enjoy these times where we can all come together on
GEnie, and think that it's just wonderful that it was a FREE
Conference tonight! Thanks to everyone for attending. We are
looking forward to next month already! Goodnight!!!
=================================================================
Ed. Note : The September 3rd session of Dateline Atari! will
feature some nice prizes from Atari Corporation. Be sure and watch
the ST RoundTable bulletins for further news.
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||| Atari Asylum
||| By: Gregg Anderson
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.7
------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings, oh deranged ones, and welcome to a somewhat abbreviated
Atari Asylum. As I mentioned last week, I'm going to be out of town
for a while so the Asylum may look a touch "puny" or even invisible
until I get back in early September. Of course some of you may even
prefer it that way, short <grin>. Don't panic though, we'll endeavour
to provide you with at least a few titalating tid bits of aTari Trivia
with enough salient solid facts to keep at least some of you awake.
One of the true pleasures of being a regular on AEO (or any major
publication for that matter) is being allowed to introduce new talent.
It's not something you get to do very often but I have that distinct
pleasure now. Last issue I mentioned that I'd not been able to run the
tests I'd wanted to do on COMPO's new Falcon ScreenBlaster. Someone
went and did the unthinkable... they bought it before I could get my
hands on it! How shocking <grin>. All was not lost though, the
individual that bought it proved to be an honorable fellow and has
submitted, for your approval and edification, a short review of
COMPO's brand new ScreenBlaster. I think you'll enjoy reading it as
much as I did. So take it away Charmon Haines!
//// Falcon Screenblaster - a first look
//// by C.G. Haines (HAINES)
This is how it happened. The day before the Blue Ridge Atarifest, I
walked into Computer Studio, to see what the deals were going to
look like during the show. Behold, there on the wall behind Sheldon
it hung: Falcon Screenblaster. One copy. Sheldon saw me drooling at
it, and explained that there was only one, as this was the first
production run, hand assembled, and it had only just arrived,
special shipping for the show. I always like being the first to
have anything, so I put my money down, and got it, on sale for only
$99.95.
For those of you who are lost at this point, let me explain. If
you have a Falcon030, and would like to have larger resolutions in
your video modes, this is the product that you have been waiting
for. This production run looks like a null modem plug. It plugs
directly into your Falcon monitor port, and your monitor adaptor
plugs into it. A small ribbon cable runs from the adaptor around to
one of the analog joystick ports. That is it for the hardware. Plug
in takes half a minute. The software consists of a small program
that goes in your AUTO folder along with an info file. A CPX is
copied to your CPX folder. Another small program and info file
goes in a folder that is copied anywhere you want to run it from,
like your utility folder. This is only for your convenience. Run
the program in the folder and it will detect the type of monitor
you have hooked up, if an Atari monitor or VGA. You can then select
from a file list the type of VGA or Super-VGA attached, or else the
Atari monitor. Select the joystick port you have it plugged into.
Save the info file into the AUTO folder. Reboot.
Now it's magic time. If you have a VGA monitor hooked up, when the
AUTO program runs, you will get a list of physical resolutions to
select from, starting at the standard 640 x 480, up to about 1152 x
832, depending on the monitor you selected earlier. You can select
between interlaced or non-interlaced modes on VGA monitors - or you
can press UNDO, and disable the Screenblaster software. If you
select one of the modes, then bootup proceeds as normal. When the
desktop comes up, you will be very surprised at the increase. If
you have a generic Super VGA monitor, you can get up to about a
275% increase. That is the equivalent of having three normal
desktops side by side, and taller to boot.
What is the CPX for you ask? If you notice that the screen is
wrapped around on the edges, the CPX will allow you to adjust this,
and save the results so that a correction is made when this mode is
loaded. You are not locked into a screen mode, you can change modes
just like before, with Set Video under Options. When you select a
change here, you will see the screen pop, and a menu will come up
with resolutions that will run under the options you changed to. It
will not allow you to exceed the hardware, like running True-Color
80 column on a cheap VGA monitor. But it will expand your desktop
very much. If you have a VGA or Super VGA monitor, then the
Screenblaster is a very good bargain. It seems to work with
anything that works with GEM on the Falcon in the regular video
modes. The only things I have found that do not work are things
that go directly to the hardware; like the Falcon slideshow, and
any other things that do not use GEM. If it runs in a window, it
seems to run here.
Other features include selection of a virtual screen mode, instead
of a physical size. You can have a 2000 x 2000 16 color screen,
with a 640 x 480 window into it. Scrolling is very fast and smooth
over this screen, and the same capability seems to apply. Using an
interlace mode with a high hertz rate minimizes flicker. There are
a lot of selectable resolutions.
Now for the down side. If you have a SM124, you can only get the
640 x 480 screen, at least with this version of the software. That
gives you an extra 80 pixels tall, but nothing more wide. The menu
does not come up when loading to set the screen size. On the SC
1224, there is no improvement at all, at least on this version. You
do not get any menu on loading, or when you change resolutions. I
was disappointed in this. Perhaps when the software is worked on
some more, it will be possible to change this. The description on
the back of the package states that a resolution of 800 x 496 is
possible on a SM144, but I did not have one to try it on. Monitors
I did try it on, EMC VGA, KFC Super VGA, SM124, SC1224, Packard
Bell VGA. All of the VGA monitors worked with the base resolutions,
and most worked with the higher ones. No change on the Atari
monitors other than the extra 80 pixels on the SM124.
In summary, if you have a VGA monitor, and want a much larger
desktop that is very compatible, then this is much cheaper than
trying to use a graphics card. The virtual screen is very fast and
smooth. If you only have Atari monitors, you might want to wait on
an upgraded or newer version. Remember that this is the first
version, and there should be upgrades down the line. I am happy to
have almost 3 times as much screen to work on now.
//// Editor's Note: As of the time this review was written, the
//// software available did not permit the choices of extended
//// resolutions when used with a SC 1224 monitor. Compo has
//// began releasing updates to the software to correct this (an
//// update has been EMailed to Charmon), and we will have a
//// revised review of the Screenblaster in the next AEO.
Thank you Charmon, an excellent review and much appreciated. I would
like to extend the same offer to all readers of AEO. If you've written
a review on an Atari system, great game, utility, application,
hardware item, or unique hack and would like to share it with others
then please EMail it in. We'll look it over and get back to you if we
can use it. Who knows, you might end up taking my place as chief
inmate in the Atari Asylum. Be warned though, I know where at least
some of the skeletons are buried and have been known to fight dirty
when cornered <grin>.
~*~
By the way, and this is for everyone out there with the new Falcon or
any other Atari computer system with an expanded video display system.
When you write anything for upload as an ASCII text file please
remember that the Falcon and TT030 can give you a slightly wider screen
then most ST systems can manage. This can result in your ASCII upload
being wider than a standard screen can display. Please, try and keep
your text to 65 or 70 spaces, anything beyond that may get lost when
your reader tries to read it. Thanks....
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Blue Ridge AtariFest Report
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
As some of you already know, I have a part time job helping Sheldon at
Asheville's Computer STudio. What this means is that last week I had
more than the normal amount of fun.... I got to help out with this
year's AtariFest!
Fun? Well, yes as a matter of fact. With the cavet that it was also
exhausting, frustrating, educational, informative, entertaining, and
exhausting... or did I mention exhausting already?
I've had the pleasure of attending AtariFests in Denver, Glendale,
Washington, and now Asheville. WhileI did a little helping at other
shows, Asheville's Fest was the first time I was on the inside from
the very beginning. What goes into an AtariFest? a LOT of planning,
meetings, phone calls, GEnie/US Mail messages, and not a lot of sleep.
Sheldon Winick and Cliff Allen were the primary contacts for the show
and did far and away the lion's share of setting every thing up.
Though the plans for the Fest were started shortly after the '92 show
everything really came to a head the night before the show.
At Six PM everyone from the Computer STudio and much of BRACE gathered
and spent the next six hours setting up tables, chairs, running wires,
hanging signs, and generally praying that no one had forgotten
anything.
By Eight AM the next day everyone was already in the mall and hard at
work, connecting their computers, setting up their displays, and
generally bracing themselves for a flood of happy Atari fanatics.
Cliff, Sheldon, and I spend most of the morning trying to make sure we
hadn't forgotten anything and trying to help everyone else get set up.
Amazingly enough, even with all the last minute glitches and problems,
everyone was ready and waiting when the gates opened at 10:00.
When they opened, the flood began. The crowd was FANTASTIC!!!! The
first day there were at LEAST 1,000 visitors to the show and a good
two to four hundred wandering through on Sunday. Now, I've got to be
honest and admit that not ALL of these were confirmed Atari folks.
Many of them were at the mall for the Bele Chere festival and were no
doubt surprised to stumble onto a Computer Show. But that was all for
the good as it exposed a LOT of folks to the Atari computer line that
would have never dreamed of going to an Atari show otherwise. How many
of the visitors were solid Atari people? We may never know for sure
since sales of Atari software/hardware and attendance at the various
display booths were FAR in excess of the confirmed "pre-sold"
registrations could have supported.
How were sales? I can't give any specific numbers, that's up to the
individual venders. I will say that Computer STudio's Sheldon Winick
didn't seem unhappy with the shop's numbers by the show's end.
Though I didn't get to do any real sight seeing or do any "hands on"
during the show, I was able to make some VERY fast circles during my
two, twenty five-second breaks and will list a few observations
Though not present for the show in person, Electronic Spinster
Graphics and Oregon Reasearch sent in a number of their products for
the show and at a special price to boot. The raster and vector
graphics packages (clip art) from Electronic Spinster were FANTASTIC!
Even with my scanner I could never match what they've managed to put
together in any of their many packages. ORA sent in a dozen of their
newest product, DataLite. This data-compression utility almost doubles
your available disk space and is rumored to be just about idiot proof.
Also available at special show prices were Diamond Back and Diamond
Edge.
A special surprise was the arrival of the newest revision of EdHack
at special show prices. This new version is even better than the
original and there were a lot of folks that took advantage of the
special upgrade offer for EdHack.
Gribnif was present and demoing their new CrazyDots II board, a one-
piece plug-in VME board with impressive speed, colors, and resolution.
Rick quickly sold out of STalker and took orders for almost 50 copies
of Geneva (a new multi-tasking OS that will compete against MultiTOS)
before packing it in and leaving to catch his airplane Saturday night.
There were two separate MIDI rooms this year, one for Barefoot
Software's Rick Ladage and one for Applied Audio Marketing (Atari's
local Reps). Traffic in and out of both rooms was heavy throughout
the show.
The Codeheads were well represented by John Eidsvoog and his wife who
decided to combine a short (& well-deserved) vacation with the trip.
Both demoed a host of utilities, Calligrapher, and AvantVektor. John
also hosted a unique "What World" seminar and was even seen showing
off the new (and unreleased) VGA-Grade screen saver for Falcon Warp 9.
Mario Georgiou of DMC Publishing was demoing the newest Calamus SL (a
HUGE upgrade from the already impressive 1.09n) on a TT030 and a new
Windows/NT machine (sigh, even the best gotta go where the money is).
The TT was equipped with DMC's new CyRel Sunrise video card and was
producing incredible graphics at an excellent pace. I strongly suspect
that the Sunrise may be the most powerful graphics card available for
the Atari line.... Sadly it's also far and away the most expensive.
John Cole of Lexicor fame was at the show as well and ran a constant
demo of Lexicor's fantastic graphics & rendering software on their
Super Nova graphics card. An awesome combination. (From what little I
could see, I was only let out of the shop for a few minutes at a
time.)
Missionware's John Trautschold was present selling massive numbers of
his new Flash II (even I bought one <grin>) and other software
packages. Also being demoed was a new (and soon to be released)
interactive Tank/Maze/Puzzle game. Very impressive.
GEnieLamp's John Gniewkowski and his wife were present as well and
ran an almost constant GEnie demo for the heavy crowds. Fortunately
for John, his wife is also well skilled at GEnie and handling
questions or John wouldn't have seen any of the show.
Not to be outdone, Joe Mirando of STReport and his wife were present
as well. He showed up early and pitched in to help us with some of the
final setting up; thanks Joe. I got to sit in with Joe and John for a
brief seminar on the Electronic Media and the three primary Atari BBS
magazines; Atari Explorer Online, GEnieLamp, and STReport.
A surprise vendor "Paper Plates", an overlay template for Calamus.
Paper Plates was represented by Jimmy P. Carter ("J.P.C." on GEnie)
who drove down from Washington DC for the show. We were really
surprised that he was able to find a nice hotel room so quickly when
the Bele Chere festival had taken every room within 100 miles. But
then again, if you were a desk clerk and a mature gentleman with a
slightly Southern accent calls and tells you he's "Jimmy Carter" and
"I'm calling from Washington DC for a room reservation," what would
you do? Needless to say he got a room, fast.
JV Enterprises was also present selling their own brand of ST
compatible software. In fact they, like Gribnif, sold out before the
end of Saturday.
MajicSoft was also crowded and seemed to be constantly handing out
software boxes (and graciously accepting cash in return <grin>). In
fact, I don't think I saw ANY of the booths suffering from boredom
during the show. Even Sunday, which was much slower than Saturday (as
usual) saw enough traffic to keep everyone well awake.
~*~
C.ALLEN17 [Cliff Allen] Posted a list of the various representatives
and developers that came to the BlueRidge AtariFest along with the
show's door prize winners. Thanks Cliff, I know how much work this
took.
I would like to take
this time to thank:
Mario Georgiou.......DMC Publishing
Rick Flashman........Gribnif
Jimmy P. Carter......Paper Direct
John Gniewkowski.....GEnie/GEnieLamp
John Eidsvoog........CodeHead
Joe Mirando..........STReport
John Cole............Lexicor
John Trautschold.....MissionWare
Robert Dytmire.......Majicsoft
Kevin Scott..........JV Enterprises
Rick Ladage..........BareFoot Software
Bob Edsall...........Atari/Applied Audio
for participating in the 4th Annual Blue Ridge AtariFest.
From all of at BRACE and the Computer Studio.
Winners of the Door Prizes:
Dale Coggeshell Paper Plates
from Carter's Creative Computer
Ron Moore XENOMORF Object Rendere
from Lexicor
Sandra Keil GFA Basic & GFA Draft Plus
from Micro Computer Depo
Don Chaney Cardfile 4
from Gribnif Software
Eric Riddle The Cryyptographer
from Fair Dinkum Technologies
Karl Counts Hot Wire
from CodeHead Software
Bryan Edewaard Buttonzbasic
from Majicsoft
Alberta DiCillo EdHack
from Clear Thinking
Frank Cucei PAC 520
from JV Enterpris
Doug Phelps Subscription to Processor Direct
from Two Worlds Publishing
John Briggs Outline Art
from DMC
Bobby Dart Flash II
from MissionWare
Paul Plants Subscription to Processor Direct
from Two Worlds Publishing
Robert Glover $25 Gift Certificate
from Electronic Spinster
Michael Godfrey EditTrack Platinum
from Barefoot Software
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the vendors
for the door prize contributions.
If I have misspelled anyone's name or company, I want to apologize.
My computer has watched to many reruns of 2001 and 2010 and has a
tendency to go off on tangents.
Cliff (Ashevillite) Computer Studio
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Atari Compatible Monitors
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Over the past few years we've seen the number of ST-compatible
multisyncs from the major players shrink down to almost nothing.
Three years ago there were almost a dozen different and well known
models that could display (with various levels of quality) all three
of the ST's video resolutions. Sad to say, almost all of them have
abandoned the old CGA/EGA frequencies and moved upscale to the newer
VGA frequencies. All is not lost though as there are still a few units
available that should work with the older ST line (and the Falcon).
Why bother? For convenience (easier than swapping cables and the
monitor is always right where you need it), weight (almost any
multisync is lighter than two Atari monitors), and future
expandability to a TT, Falcon, or whatever.
The availablity of a single "one size fits all" monitor has been a
sore point for me for a long time. I've always hated having to have
two monitors on the desk to use all of my computer's software. I have
to admit I can see why Atari chose a dual monitor concept when the ST
was being designed. Back then EGA was the best display the DOS market
could offer and even with two monitors, the ST was able to pretty
well match or exceed it in colors, resolution, and for less cash.
The TT came along later and used a modified VGA display for its color
modes, a move welcomed by almost all Atari owners. Just the VGA
display wasn't enough though as a serious high res mode was felt vital
for the TT's success. Rather than stay within the VGA standard Atari
chose to use a unique ECL-based monochrome display. Why? I suspect it
was because 1) most Atari owners were used to and prefered a
monochrome high-res display, 2) both Atari and 3rd party software &
hardware supporters had experience with the 1280-960 res Moniterm
display and finally, 3) though far from cheap, the ECL monitor and
display system were less expensive than an equivalent high-res VGA
system AT THE TIME OF DESIGN! That's the key, I think, as to why
Atari chose the dual monitor design for the (then) new TT. To save
everyone involvded money. There is also the thought that most serious
productivity types would settle on a single monitor from the
beginning and stay with it, not caring to switch from one to the
other.
This philosophy appears to be changing though. With the release of the
new Falcon, it seems that Atari has re-committed itself to a more
"industry standard" approach in its video and hard drive systems.
Hopefully we'll soon see new Falcon-based computers offering the more
detailed (and demanding) 1024 x 768, 1280 x 960, 1280 x 1024, and
higher resolutions without leaving the VGA standard. Why am I so
optimistic? Because of the built-in (though largely undocumented)
flexibility of the Falcon's video hardware. This becomes obvious with
the ease and success utilities such as FalconScreen and COMPO's
ScreenBlaster have increasing the Falcon's base resolutions.
//// Monitor Frequencies
Vertical Refresh Horizontal Sweep
ST LOW & MED: 60 Hz 15.7 Khz
ST High: 70 Hz 35.1 Khz
Falcon: 60 Hz 35.1 Khz
TT High: 71.6 Hz 71.9 Khz (note:ECL not VGA)
TT Color: 60 Hz 31.5 Khz
Anyway, according to their printed specifications, the following
monitors "should" work with the base ST's three resolutions. Keep in
mind that you'll need an adapter to switch between the resolutions. I
believe Toad Computers still has such an adapter available. This list
is based on the claimed specifications in ads, reviews, and a guide
section in a back issue of Computer Shopper. Be warned that I've not
tested any of these units and can not promise full compatibility. To
avoid confusion I did NOT list the monitors costing over $2,000 or
units with specific applications that happen to match the needed
specifications but would otherwise not be desirable.
Brand Name Model Size Horz Vert Dot MAX MSRP
Manufacturer " Khz Hz Pitch Res. $
Amazing Tech MS-8431 14 15-36 ?? .31 10/7(I) 399
Adara Tech AML-1402 14 15-36 49-90 .28 10/7(I) 650
AOC Internat. CM-326 14 15-38 50-90 .28 10/7(I) 649
Conrac 9213 13 15-38 50-80 .28 8/6 695
Falcon Data FMS 14 15-38 47-90 .28 10/7(I) 750
Electrohome ECM-1410/11 14 15-40 45-90 .28 10/7(I) 1195
Idek MF-5015A 15 15.5-38.5 50-90 .31 8/6 695
Idek MF-5017 17 15-40 50-90 .31 10/7(N) 1195
Idek MF-5021A 21 15.5-38.5 50-90 .31 10/7(N) 1995
Intra Elect. CM-1403 14 15-38 40-100 .28 10/7(I) ???
Leading Edge* CMON M 14 15.8-39 50-90 .28 10/7(I) 599
Sampo* AlphaScan 14 15.8-36 50-87 .28 10/7(I) 649
Scepter Tech CE-8 14 15-38 50-90 .28 10/7(I) 995
Scepter Tech CM-3 14 15.5-36 50-70 .31 8/7 795
Sony* GVM-1310 13 15.8-36 50-100 .25 10/7(I) 1295
Sony* GVM-2020 20 15.8-36 50-100 .55 10/7(I) 1595
Taxan MultiVision 770+ 14 15-37 50-90 .31 8/6 895
TVM MediaScan3+ 14 15-38 46-100 .28 10/7(I)
Ultimate Disp. Ultra 1200 12 15-38 45-100 .28 8/6 450
Ultimate Disp. Ultra 1400 14 15-38 45-100 .28 10/7(I) 899
Ultimate Disp. Ultra 1600 16 15-38 45-100 .31 10/7(I) 775
Note: 10/7: 1024 x 768(N or I)
8/6: 800 x 600
6/4: 640 x 480
(N): Non-Interlaced Display (no way to verify this here)
(I): Interlaced Display
* : 15.8 Khz horizontal freq may or may NOT work with the ST.
Other Atari System Monitors
IMHO the "king" of ST compatible multisyncs has to be the original
NEC-3D, which combined an excellent monochrome display with a "memory"
that reduced the need to adjust the display when changing resolutions.
Sadly, this outstanding unit is out of production and only a handful
are still available in a few mail order shops. Its replacement, along
with most new multisyncs, has dropped support for the once popular
15.7 Khz horizontal sweep.
By the way, while the TT030 uses a VGA signal similar to the
Falcon's for its color display, it's not quite a "standard" VGA signal.
It seems that the TT030 has a slightly wider than normal horizontal pulse
width that causes a distorted aspect ratio on most VGA monitors. A
handful of monitors can be adjusted with the external size controls
to regain a more normal display. Sadly, most lack the flexibility to
do this. The Magnavox CM9089 requires an internal adjustment to match
the pulse width but then works fine. Rumor has it that one of the
"Amazing" brand of VGA monitors will also work, but I've not confirmed
this yet. Many of the more expensive multisyncs can be adjusted to a
correct aspect ratio as well, though each seems to differ in what is
needed to reach a correct ratio.
Color VGA suggestions for the TT030? Ask your dealer, or buy a video
adapter (CrazyDots II, Super Nova, CyRel Sunrise, etc) since these not
only offer a much wider selection of screen resolutions and colors but
an industry standard VGA output as well <grin>.
Falcon monitors? Well, now it gets interesting since we've no idea yet
of what Atari intends for the next generation of the Falcon (something
I've taken to calling the "FalconNG"). Currently almost ANY standard
VGA monitor will handle the Falcon's video right out of the box with
no problem. There will be wide variations in display quality between
the really inexpensive low end VGA monitors and the better (if
slightly more expensive) units. I've found the 14" Magnavox CM9089 VGA
monitor offers a sharp and bright display on the demo Falcon at
Computer STudio, in fact it's a better display than the TT's.
But..... if you want to take advantage of future Falcon video
releases, COMPO's ScreenBlaster, or any other resolution enhancement,
then you may need something more than a base "cut-rate" VGA monitor.
As a rule, I suggest you consider a non-interlaced 1024 x 768 display
for any unit you purchase for your Falcon if you're also looking to
future expandability. Go for as flexible a unit as you can find, a
multisync with a 30-60 Khz (or better) horizontal sweep (the higher
the resolution the faster the horizontal sweep required), 50-90 Hz (or
better) vertical, a dot-pitch of .28 or smaller, and a bandwidth from
68 to 100 Mhz or better. As for size.... well, contrary to popular
myth "bigger IS better." The day of the 12-13" monitor is long over
and 14" is now considered the LOWER END of any video display. In fact,
14" is pretty well maxxed out with the Falcon's 640 x 480 display in
terms of clarity and readability. 800 x 600 is usable on a 14" monitor
but only if it's a VERY good monitor and you have better than 20-20
vision. If you can afford it then a 15" monitor is the best size for a
readable 800 x 600 resolution or a rather cramped 1024 x 768.
Plan on using 1024 x 768 (or higher) for serious DTP or CAD work?
Then you'd best plan on spending some serious dollars on a 17" or
larger monitor because you're going to need it. At any resolution
resembling the TT's old 1280 x 960 resolution, anything smaller than
a full-screen 17" monitor is an exercise in severe eye strain.
Needless to say, a display like this is a true joy to work with. (for
the handful that can afford it that is. <sigh>)
If cost is no object, then I strongly suggest you look into one of the
new 17" MAG, ViewSonic, or NEC monitors. These units offer a VERY wide
range of vertical and horizontal frequencies, a wide to huge (in the
Mag's case) bandwidth, a reputation for outstanding displays, and a
price tag guaranteed to shock even a congressman.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// More Falcon Compatibility Reports
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Taken fron the GEnie Atari ST RoundTable
Category 14, Topic 46
Message 109 Sun Jul 25, 1993
FAIRWEATHER [David] at 13:22 EDT
Kozmic, ST Format Mag's psychedelic pattern generator, gets past the
opening screen to the menu (In ST Lo Compatibility mode) but at that
point the mouse pointer locks up and the program becomes useless.
Kosmic is written in STOS. Anyone know if any STOS programs work on
the Falcon?
------------
Message 116 Mon Jul 26, 1993
FAIRWEATHER [David] at 09:50 EDT
Deskmanager works. But I prefer Mouseboot which also works.
Starsaver messes things up pretty bad in 256 color mode but seems to
work ok in ST compatibility modes.
------------
Message 118 Mon Jul 26, 1993
R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 21:33 EDT
MCH,
Atari's Mouse Accelerator program (MACCEL.PRG) has a screen saver
built into it.
------------
Message 120 Tue Jul 27, 1993
C.FLUEGEL [Curt] at 01:06 EDT
Mark : NVDI works on a Falcon, and Falcon Warp9 BETTER BE OUT SOON!
(hint hint)........... Curt
------------
Message 123 Thu Jul 29, 1993
R.BUSH [Richard Bush] at 02:15 EDT
Mr. Stefani,
Superboot is somewhat compatible with the Falcon. It does get confused
and think it's running on a monochrome monitor if you are using a vga
monitor, but you can still make it work. For digital clocks try
Zeitgeist-- it's available in the library.
>Atari's Mouse Accelerator program (MACCEL.PRG) has a screen saver
>built into it.
But it only works in the compatability modes....
I can't find ANY screen saver that will work with my vga monitor unless
it's in one of the compatibility modes
------------
Message 126 Thu Jul 29, 1993
AEO.7 [Gregg] at 20:47 EDT
DB Writer seems to work well enough on the Falcon, but avoid the color
resolutions.... two color or ST High emulation only.
Gregg
------------
Message 128 Sat Jul 31, 1993
R.BUSH [Richard Bush] at 03:03 EDT
>I think Silkmouse works in 4-color VGA mode, and may work in 16-color
Yes it will work in 4-color, won't in 16 or 256 and you can't configure
it or it will crash the system. Configure on another system then move
it over-- a pain I know.
------------
Message 130 Sat Jul 31, 1993
FAIRWEATHER [David] at 23:06 EDT
I was looking for a good Fractal program that would take advantage of
the Falcon's high resolution and extra colors. I've found it in
MAND_ALL.ZIP which is available here on GEnie. It works in 256 colors
(I haven't tried True Color yet but I'd be surprised if that was
supported.). It also works in the non-standard extra high resolutions
of FalconScreen creating great full-screen unwindowed hi-rez color
graphics--probably the best fractals I've seen
on an Atari. Check it out!
------------
=-=-=-=-=-=
//// WrapUp
=-=-=-=-=-=
Hmm, looks like the Asylum didn't shrink as much as I thought it
might. Don't worry though, the next issue will be shorter (please, no
applause). With luck I'll soon be on my way for an extended (and well
deserved <grin>) trip to Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, and maybe
Canada. With luck I may even find an Atari dealer or two along the
way. I've learned something after writing for the Atari line for so
long. It's not always safe to identify yourself as the author of this
or that article or series to folks when you travel, you never know if
they're going to throw roses or rocks <grin>....
So until they loosen the loops on this jacket and I can reach the
keyboard again; keep hanging in there and I'll see you next week
during visiting hours at... the Atari Asylum.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Multi-Tos, now that you got it, what to do with it?
||| By: Tim Wilson
/ | \ Internet: WILSONT@RAHUL.NET GEnie: AEO.8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Does having Multi-TOS boggle your mind, now that you can do everything
at once? Read this starter guide to efficient multi-tasking.
Some terminology just for a quick start:
[] The Console - Keyboard and mouse input, the main CPU, or Host.
[] Process - A general program thats currently running. It may be a
.ACC, .PRG, .TOS, .TTP or .GTP. (i.e., any executable bit of code.)
[] Child - A process launched by another process. NewDesk is the parent
of all programs you double click on. "gcc-ld.ttp" (linker) is a child
of "gcc.ttp" (the main control program for GCC). Children inherit
certain characteristics of their parents, such as input and output
devices.
[] Background - A state of being for a process; a process that is
running in the background may get just as much CPU time as a
foreground process, but it may be hidden (iconified window), or it may
not have a window (ike some ACC's). It does not receive console I/O.
(A program such as STlogin, attaches itself to a serial port, it gives
a shell interface to callers, so it gets its I/O from another source.)
[] Foreground - A state of being for a process; a process that is
running in the foreground gets the console, its windows (if any), are
"topped."
[] Iconified - A window of an application that has been turned into an
icon, representing that the application still is resident, perhaps
working.
[] Topped - A window that has all of its gadgets visible, and doesn't
have any overlapping windows - the title bar will have a unique fill
pattern, or be of a different color.
[] Shell - A command line interface, where commands are typed. Nice to
have around at times in a multi-tasking environment.
[] Suspended - A state of being for a process; a process that is
suspended takes up 0% CPU time, it is frozen, on hold. It must be
foregrounded or backgrounded to continue running. (CTRL-ALT-Z, for
some programs, or CTRL-Z for a shell child.
[] Niceness - A program that re-prioritizes a process, called "nice"
has been on UNIX machines for a long time. nice will execute a program
at a specific niceness. Processes with a low "niceness" will get more
attention by the OS. Values usually range from -20 to 20. A similar
command "renice" will adjust a currently running process to a new
niceness. A GEM version of these is floating around somewhere.
"renice" is availible for use with a shell or you may use it as a TTP.
A Multi-tasking OS requires more forethought than simply running your
5 most used apps every time you boot. Since your memory and CPU time
are "commodities," you must use a bit of simple planning.
By using some of the MTOS utilities, like TOP, or PS, one can find out
just how much a program uses each of these commodities.
TOP shows the processes on your system, CPU time, and memory. It is
updated constantly, so you can view what's going on as processes stop
and start. Much like the "U:\PROC" directory.
PS gives a listing of processes, and their CPU times, and memory usage
but it only prints its results once, then ends.
Another way to judge how much a program will consume, is to look at
what the program does and generalize.
[] A text editor, like Emacs, or Edhak, one that uses sytem font, and
waits patiently for input, will consume the least amount of CPU time.
Its a good idea to "renice" such a process, just to be sure MTOS
doesn't give it any any more time than it might need.
I've seen text editors jump up to 10-15% of processor time, only to go
back to "sleep." These type of programs can have low priority for most
uses, for large search and replace however, you might want to restore
normal priority.
[] Word processors, such as Works, and other WYSIWYG word processors
consume a bit more time, because they have to work a bit more. The
"work" they do is the multiple fonts, layout, columns and the like
that need to be updated. But, the program for most of its runtime, is
waiting for you to type.
Leave these at normal priority, its not a good idea to renice these
kinds of applications, unless you want to put it on hold for an
extended period of time.
[] Graphics - by this I mean interactive graphics, such as drawing or
DTP. It's a good idea to increase priority for these applications.
Unless you really have to run something in the background (we'll
decide if you need to later on) run these without MTOS. For the most
part, applications such as these weren't written for MTOS in mind. A
few newer drawing progams are designed to work with MTOS, and these
will exhibit better performance under MTOS than their older
counterparts.
[] Calculative, GEM-View, Ray tracers, and Zmodem programs all fit into
this category. This type of program truely deserves to be run in the
background. Any window that they might have is usually a status
report, iconify this window, or move it to the bottom off screen. Then
start up a program in the interim to keep you busy while the computer
calculates. You might want to play around a bit with the priority of
each. My usual scenario is to edit some source code while compiling.
If you use GCC, you should look for the MiNTlib versions. They are
slightly smaller, and run better under MTOS. (atari.archive.umich.edu
has a whole section in the /atari/Mint directory.)
Ok, so obviously, these different classes don't work all work together
flawlessly.
Running 3 calculation programs are gonna split the CPU time at about
30% a piece. They'll probably all take a bit longer than if you would
run them separately one after each other.
So that's not a good thing to do. You can however, make them low
priority and do something else that doesn't take much CPU time, say,
call a BBS, or use Works. By doing things like this, you _gain_ time,
since now doing all 4 of these, separately, would take more time.
An example: (approximated times for a 4Meg STe)
GIF2SPC: 4 minutes
RZ(2400 baud): 7 minutes 100kfile
ZIPjr, unzip big .MSA: 5 minutes
Type a report: 30 minutes
total time: 46 minutes
MultiTOS times----
GIF2SPC (low priority) 7 minutes
RZ 7 minutes
ZIPjr (low priority) 8 minutes
Type a report: 30 minutes
OK, here's where it gets neato:
Background processes: 22 minutes.
Foreground process: 30 minutes
Larger of Fg or Bg: 30 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Because the background processes are running the whole time the typing
is being done, the same work is done in less time than without MTOS.
This is an extreme example of course, at least for me. All sorts of
programs could also be running, MOD players, STlogin, network
managers, shells, things that could sit and wait for things to happen.
This is the case on Unix machines, where 100 processes at a time are
running.
Here's some "things to do" to get you started:
Background Foreground
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
8Mhz STe- Connect 2.0 Play othello or other window game.
(waiting for RZ to finish)
RZ (downloading, 2400baud)
Falcon030-
Music (.MOD, .OCT) TruePaint (drawing an insect)
non-DSP mandelbrot Desk "Show" text file on specimen
TT030- MOD player Calamus SL
Run BBS, or STlogin PhotoCD viewer (importing pictures)
Compiling a C program
Or course, the better the CPU, the more stuff you can run. A MegaSTe
for example, could run both serial ports at the same time, and at
least one of them at 14.4K baud, the TT030 could probably run all 3
standard ports at full blast.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Speeding it up
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
A screen accelerator is a must when using MultiTOS; you won't feel the
slowdown as much.
For those interested, you might want to pick up a Minix File system.
Since MultiTOS allows for different filesytems to be resident on your
hard drive, some people have a small TOS partition for picky programs,
and a Minix FS for the rest.
Minix is faster than the MS-DOS format that Atari uses, you can have
longer filenames as well. The downside is that it's still at a low
version number, and there might be hidden problems lurking.
On the Falcon030, use a lower resolution (or smaller color palette)
when working with MTOS.
Iconify windows (if the program supports it) when not in use, or
suspend processes.
Use the CTRL-ALT-TAB combo to move between programs instead of the
Desk pulldown; also get to know NewDesk's keyboard commands, assign
often used commands to easily accessible keys. (e.g., close top
window = spacebar)
CLR/HOME from the desktop redraws the screen.
Have a desktop icon for U:\PROC, so you can easily kill processes that
have gone amuck.
If you have trouble with the standard desktop window colors, (if it's
hard to tell what's topped), use WINCOLOR.CPX to make bottom windows
have low contrast with the desktop's main field; the topped window
will show up better.
Don't top a window if you want to close, resize, or drag, MTOS doesn't
require you to do so. Topping a window could take a second or more.
If you are working with "solid" programs, try turning off the memory
protecttion (Use the MultiTOS.CPX). This speed up is only for 030
users, as the 68000's in other Atari's don't have memory protection.
MultiTOS is a great thing to happen to the Atari world, and that's my
personal un-bribed opinion. I hope this helps you use it better.
--==--==--==--==--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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-- Upon connection, enter HHH. --
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--==--==--==--==--
||| The Unabashed Atariophile
||| By: Michael R. Burkley
/ | \ GEnie: AEO.4 Delphi: MRBURKLEY
------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you remember a few weeks ago I talked about how some people have a
problem with "things?" They seem to think that if only they had
another gadget or gizmo that they would be happy. I'm reminded of John
D. Rockefeller, Sr. (if I remember correctly) who, when asked how much
money is enough money replied, "Just a little bit more." Fortunately,
having more than enough things to satisfy our basic needs doesn't
necessarily make us happy. I think that it takes a bit more than the
things of this world to make a person content with the life he or she
lives and gives.
After saying (and meaning) that, it's with some hesitancy that I tell
you that I just had a Turbo 25 board from Fast Technology installed in
my 4 meg STE. I bought it because I knew that I would save a lot of
time because of all the compressing and uncompressing of files that I
do. But little did I realize just how much time I would save. By just
a rough estimate compressing and uncompressing files goes nearly three
times faster than before. Not only that, but windows open faster, my
programs and accessories (all compressed with DC Squish) load much
faster, my scrolling through Steno (from Gribnif Software) is so much
faster that I'm just learning not to overshoot the text I want, and
Calamus, already super fast, just blazes through screen re-draws and
printing on my SLM 605. I would liken it to the difference between a
Warp 9 equipped ST and one lacking that amazing bit of software. Once
you run it for awhile you don't want to ever go back! I just wonder
what it would be like to use the Gadgets by Small SST 68030 board or
one of the Fast Technology's 68030 boards! But, wondering is all that
I'm going to do!
Have you ever thought of buying an accelerator board? Now would be the
time to do it. Fast Technology has their family of accelerator boards,
ICD is having a blow-out sale on their 16 MHz accelerators for the
ST/STE, and Gadgets by Small has their 030 SST.
But all of the above doesn't have too much to do with the best in PD
and SHAREWARE software (other than the fact that you can uncompress
those files a lot faster when you have an accelerator!). So now it's
time to move on to some of the files I have found in recent weeks.
[] ASTROTIM is the Astro Time Calculator v.3.03beta by Gerry Kichok.
This HyperLINK .HAP file will allow you to calculate moon phases (at
whatever latitude you are at), Julian dates from the Gregorian dates
(normal dating), Universal Time, and more. It is accurate to the
extent of HyperLINK (5 decimal places). Color or mono (best in mono).
Docs included. Use HyperLINK or the HyperLINK run-time module to use.
Gerry has written a number of HAP files, COINBOOK, REPAIR, SHAREWARE
v.1.3, SOFTWARE, v.1.10 are just the ones I know. She certainly keeps
busy with her programming!
[] AUTOCLIP is a series of four GIF B & W scanned pictures of: a Honda
Civic Del Sol Si; a Lexus GS300; a Subaru Imprezza, and an Infiniti
J30. You can import them into PageStream or Calamus SL. Since this
file was uploaded, the author has uploaded scads more.
[] AXELF is the AXEL FOLEY song from the TV series "Beverly Hills Cop."
Have you ever tried to describe a music file? It's tough! So this time
I won't try. This is a familiar tune, and I like it. You can play it
with the most recent Paula MOD player or with JukeBox v.1.4. There are
lots of other MOD files uploaded recently, both on Delphi and GEnie. I
recommend them to you. If you only have an ST (i.e., one without the
DMA chip) you will need Paula to play this .MOD file.
[] BABYSIT1 is a PageStream 2.2 .DOC file by M. Mastaler that provides
you with a checklist to leave with a babysitter. You can either fill
in the blanks in PageStream or print out the document and fill them in
by hand. I like how this has been set up. Along with all the standard
information (where you're going, emergency numbers, etc.), the author
has also included spaces for "What to do if you try this and it
doesn't work." Now THAT's something helpful for a babysitter to have
in an emergency!
[] BODY is the Electric Body Shop by Albert Baggetta. This program has
been designed for Guitar Players who want to have some fun. You are
presented with three differently designed guitar bodies. You then
choose which guitar heads to attach to the body, and finally, you
color your choices. This program is a fun way of getting a guitar of
your choice. Color only. Docs included.
[] BSTAT246 is B/STAT v.2.46 by Robert Wilson. It is a sophisticated
statistical analysis and business graphics spreadsheet program. A
powerful graphing program is also included. Data can be entered from
its own spreadsheet or others. It will load DIF, ASCII, PRN, WKS
(Lotus 123) and SYLK files. It requires a minimum of 1 Meg of RAM
(more is better) and a double-sided drive or hard drive. B/STAT will
use GDOS if available (only on a larger-than-one-meg machine) but it
is not required. This program is complicated, but powerful. Docs and
online help included. 799K uncompressed. Color or Mono. ST through TT
compatible. SHAREWARE.
[] C172 is a nicely done .IMG drawing of a Cessna 172 single-prop
monoplane in flight. The view is from the above right and front.
[] COMIK is a demo (save disabled) of The Comic Book Collector v.2.0 by
Albert Baggetta. According to the author this is the ultimate comic
database when it comes to simplicity and thoroughness. Collecting,
sorting, cataloging, listing, reading, scanning, updating your
collection is only a key or mouse press away. This is an easy to use
and capable program. Color or mono.
[] CWAC_301 is the Cool Wave Archive Converter v.3.01 ("Quack") from
Lee Offenberger of Cool Wave Software. This program will allow you to
easily convert archived files from one format to another. All you need
to do is to tell the program what files to convert, to what you want
them converted, and where to put them. That's it - and it uses a
pleasing interface, too! The most recent versions of ARC.TTP,
LHARC.TTP, STZIP.PRG, UNARJ.TTP, and ZOO.TTP are required (you can
find them in a companion file named PACKERS.TOS). You can also have
CWAC convert any file extension into an archive. For example convert
all your *.TXT files to *.LZH files. This version is fully functioning
except that it doesn't allow for command line control (which could be
used by SysOps for file maintenance). Make sure to use this version
because under rare circumstances previous versions could do some mean
things! This time the author has zapped those bugs! Docs included.
Color or mono. SHAREWARE.
I enjoy Science Fiction (as I think I've told you before). Some of my
favorite authors are Zenna Henderson, Poul Anderson, Madeline L'Engle,
Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov (among many others). That's one of
the reasons I like to visit the Delphi Science Fiction Database. I
know GEnie has a similar section (probably bigger, too); I just
haven't found it yet. There are all sorts of files there. I've
downloaded the first half of a recent Orson Scott Card book (Xenocide
- the third book in his Ender stories). That made me get the rest of
the book! There are portions of other books available for downloading
as well. There are also many short stories free for the downloading.
It's fun! I thought I would pass on a few of them.
[] DATACHRI by Ron Stein is a short story entitled, "Data's First
Christmas." I thought this was a very interesting story about Data's
investigations into "The Christmas Spirit." Data while wondering just
how one goes about getting this spirit learns that "it is more blessed
to give than to receive." I liked it! From the Delphi Science Fiction
Area.
[] I_LOCUT is a short story entitled I, Locutus. Captain Picard is
slowly being taken over by a Borg virus implanted in him while he was
"Borgified" as Locutus. The Borg succeed in over-running Earth and was
well on the way towards assimilating the best of our world. Through
heroic efforts of all concerned (of course!), everything works out in
the end! While no longer fitting in with the Star Trek Universe as
expounded in the TV show, this story is self-consistent and true to
the story line as of when it was written. From the Delphi Science
Fiction Area.
[] STAR_DRE is Star Drek: The Next Degeneration, by Robert Fentiman.
This is an amusing parody of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In it you
will meet Captain Hugh Lett Packard, the Chief of Security, Fishermans
Wharf, and many more "familiar" characters. Learn how "Leslie" saves
the Enterprise from the Borg Tribbles. This is really "BAD"! From the
Delphi Science Fiction Area.
[] DR&THE_E is a story written by Jean Airey (1982) that presents a
very good look at what might happen if "The Doctor (from the "Doctor
Who" universe) met up with the crew of the "original" "Star Trek"
series. I liked reading this, and recommend it to you if you like
either Dr. Who or the original Star Trek (especially if you like
both!). From the Delphi Science Fiction Area.
Now back to the regular files...
[] DAYCARE1 by Mark Warner is a HyperLink HAP file that will allow you
to computerize a DayCare center. It contains modules that will allow
you to track basic needed information about the child (parents,
contacts, etc.), a medical module that allows you to record needed
medical information, an "other" module that allows you to add whatever
other information you wish, and a finance module for tracking
payments. Of course, you can generate reports of all of the above.
Requires HyperLink or the freeware Hyperlink run-time module to run.
[] DMASND13 is DMA-SOUND (The STE DMA Sound Sample Player) v.1.3 by the
author of The Recipe Box and many other programs, Anthony Watson
(dated July 30, 1993). The STE DMA Sound Sample Player allows you to
play stereo or mono sound samples at 6KHz, 12KHz, 25KHz, or 50KHz
using the hardware built into the STE/TT/Falcon computers. Naturally
older STs which do not have this hardware will not be able to use this
program. The program itself only uses 15K of RAM, though memory usage
overall varies with each sample played. The only limit to the length
of sample playable is the RAM you have available in your machine! It
will play signed sound samples only. Install it as an application and
just click on a sound sample and listen away! This version is the same
as v.1.2, but it is now freeware (since NO ONE registered it -
jeesh!).
[] DSP20 is DSP v.2.0 by Keith Lord (dated July 23, 1993). This is a
Digital Signal Processing program which allows you to create High
pass, Low pass, Bandpass and Notch digital filters, and use them to
process your favorite digitized sound samples. The author wrote the
program to try to get rid of that annoying "warp drive rumble" that
seems to be in the background of all Star Trek TNG audio samples. You
can modify your sound samples any way you wish. Although DSP was
written to process audio samples, it's really a general purpose
digital filter program, so you can use it on any digital information.
GEM based (and I like his moose mascot!). This file includes a
built-in sample playback feature (David Baggett's Play Program v.3.0),
a graphic filter display, and a beep to let you know when it's done.
This version allows you to access the menu bar (now you can get to
your accessories!) and now many more features of D.B.'s sound player
program are accessible. Color or mono. Docs included. ST/STe/(and
hopefully) TT compatible.
[] EIFFEL is VICI v.1.02 by Peter Seitz (dated Mar. 13, 1993). This is
a GEM based interpreter for the Eiffel computer language. Program and
docs in German. Numerous examples are provided. SHAREWARE.
[] ELFBACK2 is ELFBack 2 by E.L.F Software. This TT-only program
provides an easy way to do hard disk backups and restores for the
TT030 platform (It uses TT RAM, 68030 instructions, and the 68881
floating point co-processor, so it absolutely won't work on an ST(E).)
It can use data compression to reduce the number of floppies needed
(three different built-in versions), and has a built in RAMdisk to
speed up I/O. I like the graphical representation of just how far
along you are in the backup process. To me it always seems to go
faster if I can see some progress indicator rather than just a static
screen. This program also allows you to do incremental backups (in
other words only the first backup is a pain! - the others are easy!),
or to select the drive, directory, or file to back up (nice!). One (of
many) nice thing about this program is that it allows you to inspect
each floppy before you write on it, and to either reformat, erase
(faster than reformatting), or use the remaining space on the floppy
and preserve the existing files. That can save you much trouble with
the "oops!" factor. There are many other features of this program as
well. Docs and online help included. Color or mono. SHAREWARE.
[] ELFSTART by R.Constan of Elfin Software is a program that fixes a
problem with ElfBoot that sometimes affected ElfBoot users with TOS
2.00 and up. If you have had trouble starting programs from within
ElfBoot (either by direct command or from within a macro), then this
file is for you. Simply put this file in your AUTO folder in place of
the ElfBoot program already there (either the demo or the registered
version). Color or mono. This is not needed for TOS versions below
2.00.
[] F211UPGD is a file that will allow you to upgrade Flash II v. 2.0,
2.01, or 2.1 to version 2.11. If you use this excellent
telecommunications program then this upgrade is for you!
[] FPATCH1 is a patch from Atari that fixes two problems in the Falcon
BIOS (TOS 4.00-4.04). The first is that the sound system is not
initialized properly (the patch allows some older programs that do
STE/TT-style DMA sound to function), and the second is that Bconmap()
doesn't work (run this patch and that problem will be history!).
[] FREE_T1 is seven PostScript Type 1 fonts for use with PageStream
2.x. They are Ambrosia, Bastarda, Czar Bold, Dixieland Normal,
KeyStroke Normal, Kurt Russell, and Mac Humaine. These are all fairly
complete fonts, some with many special characters, and all with some.
This file also contains information on obtaining more Type 1 fonts
(the same place has Calamus fonts available as well). I found this on
the CodeHead BBS and on other services.
[] GVIEW232 is GEM View v.2.30 (dated July 19, 1993). GEM-View loads
and displays pictures in a variety of graphic formats in any desired
resolution and virtual size (BigScreen) on the ATARI ST/TT/Falcon
series of computers and with a diverse range of graphic cards. This
amazing picture viewing program runs as either a program or an
accessory! Forget about the rest of this description and just get this
file! Many people claim that it is the best around. Now I agree!
This version, while fixing a few minor bugs, now has complete English
Docs. While the program was in English before this version, the
complete docs were always in German. The English docs are great! GEM
View automatically manipulates a picture file to display it in its
best possible range of color and size.
Here are the picture formats supported by GEM View (a LOT!):
TIFF Format ( *.TIF ) GIF Images 87/89 ( *.GIF )
JPEG Images ( *.JPG) Tiny-Compressed Images (*.TN[123Y] )
Imagelab Images ( *.B&W ) Spectrum 512 Images ( *.SPU, *.SPC )
IFF Imagefiles ( *.IFF ) HAM Hold & Modify ( *.IFF )
OS/2 Bitmap ( *.BMP) MS-Windows Bitmap ( *.BMP, *.RLE )
GEM-(X)Image Files ( *.IMG ) GEM-Metafiles (Vector) ( *.GEM)
PC Paintbrush ( *.PCX ) Art-Director Rasterfiles (*.ART )
Degas Images ( *.P[IC][123] ) Sun Rasterfiles ( *.SUN )
STAD Images ( *.PAC ) Portable Bit Map ( *.P[BGP]M)
MacPaint Image ( *.MAC ) Neochrome Rasterfiles ( *.NEO )
Targa Images ( *.TGA ) Enhanced Simplex ( *.ESM )
Vidas Image ( *.IMG) Vivid Raytracing ( *.IMG )
X Bitmap-File ( *.XBM ) Resource File ( *.RSC )
Load as Hexdump ( *.* ) Doodle Monochrome Rasters ( *.DOO [640x...] )
I like the fact that this will automatically display and convert GEM
metafiles (vector graphics) into raster graphics (the display works
fine, but the conversions, at least for my GEM files, left much to be
desired). It runs under MultiTOS with no problems. You can even load
GDOS fonts (for use with GEM Metafiles)! Includes excellent monochrome
support - even for GIF pictures - and is very fast. Now you can keep
in memory more than one picture at a time. The interface has been
improved and expanded. The program version now allows access to
accessories. This program does so so much more than even this long
description includes (MANY supporting programs and .ACC's included).
Highly recommended. SHAREWARE ($20) by Dieter Fiebelkorn. Color or
mono (and high color and true color boards). Requires at least 1 MEG
of RAM. Over 1.4 Meg uncompressed (but set up in such a way that
people who only have floppy disks can still uncompress it).
[] KABOOM by David Munsie is a conversion of an old 8-bit favorite. You
are presented with a screen with someone who doesn't like you at the
top. He goes on to drop LOTS of bombs on you from above. You have to
catch all of them with three paddles you move back and forth with your
joystick. Catch enough of them and you move up to the next level -
which is harder than the one you just finished! Miss once and you lose
one paddle (the bottom one). I do fairly well until I miss my first
bomb, and then it's just downhill - rapidly - from there. This is one
of those games about which you say, "I'll just try it one more time -
I know I can do better!" Color only. ST--Falcon compatible (supposedly
- I know it works on my STE). Docs included. DONATIONWARE.
[] LCKYLT32 is Lucky LOTTO Numbers v.3.2 by Terry Warren and Barney
Poston (dated July 14, 1993). This program will allow you to analyze
lottery data for just about any state or regional lottery (ranges of 1
to 9 winning numbers out of a possibility of 15 to 60 numbers), and
then print out numbers for you to "play." I'm amazed that there is a
market for a program such as this. Analyzing random numbers to predict
a future random number is a waste of time. I would welcome anyone to
show me differently. If a lottery isn't random, it's fixed - and you
certainly won't know about it! As the authors say, "Don't forget the
quote from Forbes magazine 'Your chances of winning the lottery are
the same whether you play or not!'" Mono only. This program uses David
Becker's excellent Zest interface. Detailed docs included. ST--STE
compatible (at least).
[] LHA_221 is LHarc v.2.21 by Christian Grunenberg (dated June 1993).
This compression/uncompression utility is LZH compatible (lh-0 to
lh-5) and is compatible with Quester's LZH201 (and a bit faster, too).
The version on Delphi contains both the English and German programs
while the version on GEnie contains only the English program. There
are program specific docs in German alone, and the archive also
contains generic LZH docs in English). 283K uncompressed.
[] MAC_FONT is a nice Warp 9 system font replacement by Lou Trapani
(mono only). It makes your screen font look like a Macintosh system
font. This replaces a previous version and improves on it in that most
of the extended characters are in the same style of the Mac font. In
the past any time a foreign language character would come up, it would
just use the old Atari system style font. Now all the characters will
be uniform.
[] MCMINOS is McMinos v.0.815 by Andreas Neudecker and Ulrich
Norbisrath (dated April 1993). This is an excellent PacMan clone with
an amazing number of features (just one of them being that the program
allows you to choose between English, Dutch, German or French
versions!). You can play it on your ST--Falcon (at least one meg
required) with ST mono or other resolution higher than that (640 by
400 or greater). Mouse, keyboard, or joystick controlled, your "man"
(actually Prince McMinos) seeks to destroy the monsters and ghosts who
are devastating the kingdom of the King (the one who is offering his
daughter's hand in marriage if you destroy the baddies). Each screen
is a "days" work, and you can get tired mighty quickly. Some screens
extend over several monitor screens, and you'll find those little
ghosts hiding just around the corners. This is one of the best, if not
the best, games of this type I have seen. SHAREWARE. Excellent online
help/manual available.
[] MGIF_42B is MGIF v.4.2B by Johan Klockars (dated July 1, 1993) This
program will allow you to display color GIF 87a or 89a images, JPEG
(in JFIF format), Degas (PI1 or PI2) or the program's own format (.FL)
in four gray scales on your ST to 32 gray scales on a Falcon. It
supports a very fast pre-viewing (seeing a rough picture first which
then gets clearer as the image is processed more fully), and much
more. It gives you an excellent monochrome image of a color GIF file.
This is an excellent viewer program, but it is also more than that.
You can manipulate those images in many different ways, and then save
your results. I thought this is an excellent program with the
exception that files are not displayed in the center of the screen but
rather at the bottom right corner. Mono is what works for the standard
ST resolutions, but TT and Falcon should be able to display gray scale
images using a color monitor. Requires at least 1.5 meg of free RAM.
If you like MODS, you should check out Delphi (24 more .MOD files
uploaded and 100's available) and GEnie (seven uploaded recently). I
have NO idea how to adequately describe a music file, so I'm not even
going to try. You'll just have to download them to see how good they
sound!
[] OYVIEWER is the OH YEAH! FILE VIEWER v.0.9 by Andrew Giddings (dated
June 26, 1993). This small program will allow you to view ASCII,
graphics (not though as pictures, just as data), or hex files from the
desktop with a simple click of your mouse. It will work in color or
mono, and with graphic cards, etc.. Keyboard/mouse controlled. Just
install it as an application and it will allow you to rapidly access
your files, mark blocks, scroll up and down through the files, and
more (it quits "cleanly" too, which I like very much). SHAREWARE.
Docs included. Found on the Boston Computer Society's BBS.
Here are some PCS files for you to view (I think PCS pictures are
great!)
[] CAMERA is an excellent PCS image of a Canon 35mm camera with a
telephoto lens attached. The camera is sitting flat on a shiny tiled
surface and is crisply done. I am amazed at the quality that can be
created with a computer generated graphic!
[] CANYON is a PCS picture of a view of the Grand Canyon. While very
nice, it is not as "clean and crisp" as many other PCS pictures I have
seen. Still, it captures a bit of the awe-inspiring scenery of the
Grand Canyon.
[] DRAGON is a very nice PCS picture of a winged and horned Dragon
(with another one just walking off-screen). This dragon is walking
through a pillared and polished room.
[] TREKCITY is a PCS drawing of a Federation Galaxy Class Starship
approaching the open airlock in the side of a huge starbase in orbit
about the Earth. The Moon is visible in the background. The view is
from a distance.
[] PSY_PIG2 is Pyscho Pig II. This is an excellent platform-style game.
It's quite large, ending up on two disks. You play the role of Pyscho
Pig, the SuperPig who has taken on the task on the task of rescuing a
clutch of baby crocodile from an evil bird who wants to turn them into
purses! Battle across four different landscapes gathering everything
you need to save the day. Jump, float, fly, bounce from platform to
platform, climb hills, burrow through the ground - in short everything
you see on any "Super NES" machine is right here. Shareware, and well
worth it. Color only. A STOS game (TOS 1.62 compatible, at least - but
check out STOSFX21 for higher versions of TOS).
[] QP_360 is QUARTET PLAYER v.3.60 by Dan Panke (dated May 1, 1993).
QUARTET PLAYER 3 works in any resolution on an Atari ST or STe. Simply
select your Quartet song and voice set via the file selector box and
sit back and enjoy. In all previous versions you could only play one
song at a time. Dan has fixed that! Load 'em up and listen! Simply
select your song and voice set via the file selector box and sit back
and enjoy. He has figures a way to connect the Quartet songs, sets and
text files to all be connected into one file (all the programs and
files you need to do this are included as well). This version now
allows files that have been compressed with IcePack v.2.4 and
Speedpacker v.3 to be played. This can save a significant amount of
disk space. As you listen to the song a drum set is displayed along
with information about the song played. There are many Quartet songs
available (mostly on Delphi, I think), and this is THE player from
them. Dan is the owner of ST Plug. He has some excellent software that
can be found nowhere else. Docs included.
[] RUNLOW13 is Run Low v.1.3 (dated July 22, 1993) by Anthony Watson of
Mountain Software (the author of The Recipe Box and other fine
programs). Run Low lets you run most of your low resolution programs
directly from the medium resolution desktop! Run Low saves your
current desktop colors, switches to low rez, and runs your program.
This program provides you with up to five different ways of running
your low rez programs, depending on your preferences. I especially
like the feature of Run Low that will allow you to click on a file
(say a GIF file), and will run the program (in this case the GIF
viewer) that uses that file in low resolution. When you leave your
program, Run Low switches back to medium and restores your desktop
colors. ST--Mega STe compatible (at least). Docs included. I found
this file on the CodeHead BBS and on other services as well.
[] SAMSOUNZ is a series of .AVR sounds for use with Atari's new System
Audio Manager (SAM). They are: Jackie Wilson saying "Hey You!" and
"Rrrrrreeet"; Jimi Hendrix saying "You Move Me"; Sammy Davis
announcing "Hear ye, Hear ye, The Court's in session. Here comes the
Judge", and Undisputed Truth asking "Can You Dig It?" (this last I
cannot get to play other than as random hissing).
[] SCRUNCH is ST-SCRUNCH by Bill Hodges and R.E. Swem (dated 1986!).
This program will allow you to compact whole disks into a single file.
If this sounds like "The Magic Shadow Archiver" that's because it is
like it, only an earlier "cousin." I haven't ever seen any files
"scrunched" but you never know when you will run across one, and need
this to use it. Found on the Boston Computer Society's BBS.
[] SNDLB111 is Sound Lab v.1.11 by Damien M. Jones (dated July 28,
1993). This is a very capable sound editor that allows you to take
digitized sound samples and manipulate them to your heart's content.
It has plenty of features, and its edit functions are _very_ fast. You
can play and record samples from 5KHz to 30KHz, use samples in .AVR
(signed or unsigned), .SPL, .SAM, .WAV (commonly used on the "PC"),
.SND (DigiSound and SoundOff!), and .SMP formats (for GEM Sound),, and
it's easy to use. (Recording samples requires either the ST Replay
cartridge or Pandaal DaataSound cartridge.) It also lets you add sound
effects to your samples, like echo and fade, and more. It uses a ZeST
type button interface that is a pleasure to watch and use. Color or
mono. 40 page ASCII manual included. There's a nifty on-screen help
system that takes you through the in's and out's of the program.
Watch the mouse move about all by itself! ST/STe compatible.
SHAREWARE. You get printed docs and updates with your registration.
653K uncompressed.
[] SQIIDEMO is the demo of Squish II from Trace Technologies (Keith
Gerdes). This new program picks up where the author's Squish v.1.x
left off. As Keith says, "It's come a long way since 1989." Squish II
allows you to safely save storage space quick-and-easy by compressing
your programs and accessories. "Squished" files run exactly the same
as the original, uncompressed version. You save LOTS of space, and if
you load your programs from floppy you will notice a very nice
increase in loading speed. Now compatible with all TOS versions
(ST--Falcon), MultiTasking with MultiTOS, resolution independent,
faster and better compression than v.1.x, and much more. This demo
will show you all the features of Squish II, except you will not be
able to save your Squished files. Docs and upgrade information
included. I use Squish v.1.4 all the time, and that's great, but this
seem a lot better!
[] SRGEXMPL by Scott R. Garrigus (the creator of EmailMan, the email
address database) is a file (dated July 25, 1993) that contains some
GFA Basic source code demonstrating how to put a resource dialog box
inside of a window. The .LST and .RSC files are included. The resource
file was designed to run in ST mono or greater.
[] STALKY is STalky v.1.0 by Paul Lefebvre (dated July 28, 1993). This
is a desk accessory (or program) that gives STalker, the excellent
telecommunications package from Gribnif Software, a type ahead buffer.
The type ahead buffer is three lines and allows a total of 232
characters to be entered. It only uses 15K of RAM. Keyboard
controlled. ST/STe/TT (and probably Falcon) compatible. This now works
with Geneva, the multi-tasking resource from Gribnif, as well as
Atari's MultiTOS. Color or mono. Docs included.
[] STCAT_21 is the disk catalog of D & P Computers. It is full of over
290 hardware products for your Atari computers (including the
Portfolio), and over 2000 software titles, with all of their
associated costs. Many of the items have descriptions attached (nice
feature!). This file comes with a small database that allows you to
search through the catalog according to a variety of criteria.
There's lots of stuff here!
[] STZIP23 is STZip v.2.3 by Vincent Pomey (dated July 22, 1993). This
is one fantastic compression utility, and he keeps on making it
better! Lots of new features! It's fast and uses the new ZIP
compression algorithm named 'Deflating.' (or older versions as well).
Using an excellent GEM interface (with keyboard hotkeys), it
compresses as well or better (!) than the newest Quester LZH utility
(LZH201L). It is compatible with the newest version of PKZIP 2.04
(from the MS DOS world), and the Unix Info-Zip programs Zip 1.9/Unzip
5.0. This version is MultiTOS compatible, allows up to 65536 files in
a zip (given adequate memory), allows you to extract files to a
corresponding folder automatically, now supports Unix's Info-Zip, and
much more (including several bug fixes). Use it with a command line or
with the built-in GEM shell program (easy to use!). This file includes
a program that creates self-extracting archives, and a small, stripped
down version (a real memory saver) that is accessed only through a
command line interface. I highly recommend this program for any of you
who deal with ZIP files. Docs included. Color or mono. ST--TT
(Falcon?) compatible.
[] TANTAL2 by Sol Guber is a "demo" of his Standard Reference Symbols
for use as figures in DynaCadd. He has included the complete index for
the symbols as well as five IMG files that contain many of the symbols
for your preview. Ordering information is included. 434K uncompressed.
[] TTGAME is a series of programs by Joe Tapply that will allow you a
much greater chance of running some ST specific programs on your TT.
Several of the programs in this file move your TT ROMS and MMU
translation tables into TT RAM and then configure it in various ways
(separate versions are included for TT owners without TT RAM). This
allows you to fool your 68030 into using only 24 bit addresses like a
68000 does. Other programs allow you to run _most_ ST Bootsectors from
your desktop. Overall, these files will prove a great boon to your
TT's compatiblity. Docs and source code (.S) included.
[] TWAS is a .SAM file from the TV show, "Married with Children." Al
Bundy is telling his own rendition of "The Night Before Christmas." I
thought it was dumb, crass humor, but you never know, you might like
it! Since this file uncompresses to 951K you will need a hard drive or
a high density floppy to uncompress it. This is a signed sample
digitized at 12.5 KHz. I used Damien M. Jones' Sound Lab v.1.11 to
listen to it (set the High Bit to clear out lots of static - that
results in very clear sound).
[] VIDEOLB2 is the Video Lib v.2.0 HyperLINK .HAP by Bman. This simple
HAP will let you title each video tape in your collection, identify
programs by their distance from the beginning of the tape, and more.
The author says it's still "ruff" but it seems to work (he updated it
in less than a week, so he's on top of it!). Use the run-time version
of HyperLINK or HyperLINK itself to use this file.
[] WATCH_IT is WATCH-IT v.1.0a by Stefan Bock. It is a MultiTOS
compatible GIF picture viewer for the ST--Falcon030 computer (mono
through true-color resolution). In the future, the author says,
formats other than GIF will be supported, but as of yet, not. While
designed to be usable on standard ST resolutions, I found this program
unworkable. Only a very small portion of a GIF was displayed on screen
at any time. You can use the GEM scroll bars to view the complete
picture, but you loose a lot when you can only see 1/16 (or less) of
the picture at a time! I also found that the color map on some
pictures was so scrambled as to make the picture incomprehensible.
Stick with Speed of Light or PhotoChrome 3 for excellent GIF viewers.
Docs included.
[] XCNTRL is XControl v.1.2, the newest newest version of the Atari
Control Panel. It is designed to take advantage of features only
available in the latest (>2.0) versions of TOS. You can still use it
if you have an earlier TOS. LOTS of new features. I have my questions
about the status of this file. I found it on Delphi, but it has no
documentation or .CPX files in the archive. I have v.1.0 which does
contain both docs and numerous .CPX's. Anyone have the docs?
I haven't heard from you about Dwight Morgan and Kristofer H. Cruz,
two excellent programmers. Do any of you know them? Please let me
know!
Take care.
All of these files can be found on one or more of the following
on-line services: GEnie (AEO.4 or M.BURKLEY1), Delphi (MRBURKLEY), The
CodeHead BBS (213-461-2095), Toad Hall (617-567-8642), and The Boston
Computer Society's Atari BBS (617-396-4607) (Michael R. Burkley).
Drop me a line!
Michael lives in Niagara Falls, NY. He is a former Polyurethane
Research Chemist and is presently the pastor of the Niagara
Presbyterian Church.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Electronic Engineering Times Takes a Look at the Atari Jaguar
||| Reprinted Courtesy of CMP Publications
/ | \ -----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
//// Editor: We are reprinting the
following article from Electronic
//// Engineering Times to provide you with a perspective of recent
//// events surrounding certain Atari Corp. news from an outsider's
//// perspective. We believe that you will enjoy this peek into the
//// Jaguar's design and background as much as we did.
~*~ Permission to reprint this article from AEO is denied. ~*~
Copyright ½ 1993 by CMP Publications, 600 Community Drive, Manhasset,
NY 11030. Reprinted from Electronic Engineering TIMES with permission.
Atari Jaguar an IBM Animal
by Junko Yoshida
Atari Corp. will score a new level of video-game performance this fall
with the introduction of Jaguar, a 64-bit RISC-based system offering
real-time 3-D shaded surfaces with texture mapping.
The $200 system, able to tap into the growing network of cable and
telephone video services, will take videogames into a graphics realm
once the province of midrange 3-D workstatins. In yet a further
departure, the system will be built by IBM Corp.
Jaguar, billed as an interactive multimedia system, is based on an
Atari-designed proprietary 64-bit RISC processor and its proprietary
digital signal processors. The cartridge-based system features 24-bit
true color graphics, shaded 3-D polygons and real-time texture
mapping.
Atari claims that Jaguar offers four times the processing power of the
current 16-bit videogames from Sega and Nintendo, and believes it is
even more powerful than the coming 32-bit ARM CPU-based machine from
3DO Co. "If a spaceship goes around a moon, or a person walking on a
street turns on the next corner, every object, every detail in such
scenes is reproduced in shaded 3-D images with texture. It's truly
amazing stuff," said Atari president Sam Tramiel.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Dense ASIC's
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The system's graphics performance is compared by the company to that
of the 3-D engines in midrange Unix workstations. And like those
engines, Jaguar is based on advanced, very dense digital ASIC's.
Jaguar's core consists of two chip sets, one holding the 64-bit RISC
processor and the other containing DSP hardware. "But the partitioning
between the two chip sets is ambiguous." said Richard Miller, vice
president of research and development at Atari, as the two share some
functions. The two sets apparently pack a whole range of components,
including controllers, video processors and encoders, leaving outside
the core only "a very small amount of TTLs and DRAMs," said Miller.
They were designed at an Atari facility in England, said Tramiel.
The 64-bit RISC processor is capable of processing video data at a
high rate, handling various video effects as well as full-motion video
compression on its own, Miller claimed.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Lots of bandwith
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Atari would not disclose any more about the core ASICs, such as gate
counts or data bandwidth, but Miller pointed out that Atari engineers
had to concentrate most of their design efforts on bus bandwidth.
"Graphics eats a lot of bus bandwidth. What's available today for
other 64-bit processors such as PowerPC is only just enough for what
we want to do," he said. "What we designed is right up on the level of
expensive 64-bit processors."
To meet its cost goals, Atari had to push ASIC technology to the
limit. The chip sets will be manufactured by "one of the top four
silicon vendors in the world" using the "smallest geometry" available,
said Miller. It is believed that with Jaguar, Atari has become one of
the early customers for a major Japanese 0.5-micron ASIC process, but
the company would not confirm this.
Clearly, manufacturing volume is essential to the Jaguar plan. The
company intends to introduce an add-on PC card featuring the company's
proprietary 64-bit RISC processor, said Tramiel. "It could also help
minimize the cost of our chip sets," he said.
Atari is also considering licensing the chip set to other silicon
vendors, but has not determined any details yet, said Tramiel.
The future holds more integration. But before working on the ultimate,
a system on a chip, the next step for Atari's engineering team is to
shrink what is currently a set of rather large custom chips further,
reducing the whole system to "one processor, one DRAM, one ROM and one
custom chip," said Miller. The company is looking at both synchronous
DRAMs and Rambus DRAMs for future use, "but we are waiting to see some
of the standards issues get settled first," he noted.
Miller does have a technological wish list. "First," he said, "we'd
love to have 0.3-micron process technology as soon as possible for
custom IC's. Second, we'd like to see some form of synchronous DRAMs
appear as a standard commodity DRAM, and, naturally, a very high bus
bandwidth to produce higher video persormance. The existing
improvements for faster bus interfaces so far have been very
disappointing for us. Lastly, I'd love to play the Atari Jaguar system
on a 10 X 10-foot display. I'm waiting for a very low cost, low power,
large-screen-size display, using probably not an active matrix but
FED-type technology."
In the long run, Jaguar is designed not just as a cartridge-based game
machine. It will use a 32-bit expansion port to connect to cable and
telephone networks, and a digital signal processing port for modem
usage and connection to digital audio peripherals.
This I/O structure reflects Time Warner's 25 percent stake in Atari.
"In the course of our product development, we've had frequent
discussions with Time Warner. It has set the direction for our machine
to have cable and telephone connections," said Leonard Tramiel, vice
president of operating systems.
The company designed and built a 16-bit prototype home-entertainment
machine two years ago, said Sam Tramiel, but scrapped the plan in
favor of a grand attempt to leapfrog the 16-bit systems that were then
coming onto the market. But then Atari engineers started to look for
enabling technology, "there were no RISC processors and no DSP's that
fulfilled our requirements, especially at our cost," said Miller.
Atari's design team even had to develop its own HDL simulation tools,
he said.
"People tend to forget that, unlike business users, comsumers do have
much higher expectations in video quality, speed and cost," Miller
said. "In order to match that demand, we had to really push the
technological envelope, driving the chip counts down, designing the
system to be highly manufacturable and depending on the smallest
geometry process technology."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// IBM the OEM
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Atari will also push the envelope in another way, turning its back on
traditional East Asian manufacturing sites and calling on IBM to build
Jaguar. IBM, working with a 30-month contract worth $500 million, will
be responsible for component sourcing, quality testing, console
assembly, packaging and distribution, and will build the system at its
Charlotte, N.C., facility. The motherboard will come from an
IBM-approved manufacturer, said Herbert Watkins, director of
application solutions manufacturing at IBM Charlotte.
For IBM, producing the Atari Jaguar system makes it for the first time
a major OEM for highly cost-competitive, mass consumer-electronics
products, Watkins noted.
"To manufacture one of the most sophisticated game machines in the
world, we needed someone who understood a high-volume, fast digital
machine," said Miller. "IBM was a natural choice."
According to IBM, the prototypes of the Atari Jaguar system will come
out in July, ramp-up models in August and mass-productions versions in
September. The system will be available first on a limited basis in
the fall in New York and San Francisco areas. A national rollout is
scheduled for next year.
-- Additional reporting by Roger Woolnough.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Data Rescue v1.0
||| By: Ron Robinson
/ | \ GEnie: EXPLORER.1
------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever deleted a file and later regretted doing so? Or have you
edited a file and then found you need the original version? Just like
Batman comes Data Rescue to save your files. This utility from Trace
Technologies can track your file deletions and rescue your data
quickly and automatically.
Trace Technologies was founded by Keith Gerdes, formerly of Double
Click Software. Keith has extensive experience with the "in's and
out's" of Atari file systems through one of his products, Data Diet, a
real time file compression utility.
Data Rescue arrives on a single floppy with a concise 32 page manual
describing operation and use of the utilities. The product includes a
10K AUTO folder program that performs the work and a program/accessory
used to recover deleted files and configure the program.
//// Now You See It, Now You Don't
Every time you delete a file, the data really is not zapped into that
big bit bucket in the sky. The first character of the file name is
replaced with a special character and the space used by the file is
marked as being available for use by other programs. This means that
as long as you do not write to your hard drive after deleting a file,
the information is still there. The fun part is knowing how to revive
this data should you need to do so.
//// Dynamic Duo Delivers Deleted Data...
Data Rescue is a set of programs that automates the recovery of
deleted files from your drives. The AUTO folder part of Data Rescue
monitors filesystem activity on your computer and keeps track of
various aspects of deleting a file to help in future recovery. If you
discover you need to recover a deleted file, the Rescue program can be
used to automate recovery of your data.
Two levels of data recovery are provided by Data Rescue. The first
technique known as "DATA tracking" keeps a list of files as they are
deleted by saving special file system information to a tracking file.
With this information, a deleted file can be "un-erased," provided you
have not written additional information over your erased files before
attempting recovery. This method is very efficient, only requiring a
constant 2K of disk space for every megabyte of data you need to track
(100K for a 50 megabyte drive). However, once another file is written
to the disk, all bets are off for recovering the file.
For those who require more extensive protection, Data Rescue furnishes
extensive delete protection and file management called "RESCUE
Tracking." The program creates a RESCUE folder on each of your drives
and moves any deleted files to that folder when they are deleted. If
you goof and delete something you need, you simply open the RESCUE
folder and copy the file back out.
//// ... and Takes Out the Garbage Too!
You may have seen public domain "Trash Can" programs that supply a
similar service. Of course the problem is that since you really are
not deleting anything, your drive rapidly fills with junk you no
longer need. Data Rescue is smarter than the average trash can
program, allowing you to configure a number of automated strategies
for taking the garbage out.
If your computer runs out of disk space, Data Rescue looks in the
RESCUE folder and removes the oldest file(s) to provide enough disk
space for the new file. An extension of this technique allows you to
configure the maximum number of kilobytes of RESCUE folder files that
are kept around. For example, you can limit the total size of your
RESCUE folder files to five megabytes.
When you use a backup utility to back up a file, there is a flag in
the file's header called the "Archive Bit" that lets the computer know
you have made a copy of the file. Data Rescue can be told to not work
on files that have their archive bit set. You can configure Data
Rescue to automatically delete files more than so many days old. Or
you can limit the size of files to be RESCUE- ized. In the event you
have a drive you wish to protect from inadvertent file deletions, Data
Rescue allows you to "Delete Protect" any drive attached to your
system - very handy if you have children who use your system.
//// Rescuing the Goods
The RESCUE program presents you with a window that looks much like a
file selector. From this window your drives can be selected and
relogged (great for SyQuest owners). Normal or deleted files can be
displayed showing their name and file details. Directory paths
(CodeHead MaxiFile support included) and other program options can be
selected from within this window. Most RESCUE operations have keyboard
equivalents available to replace mouse command operations.
Deleted files are checked for rescuability, marked to let you know if
they can be recovered, and files can be viewed on your screen for
verification purposes. Data Rescue will indicate the full name of a
deleted file. Normal and deleted files can be selected (by name or
date) and viewed.
Rescuing a file (or group of files) is a simple matter of clicking on
the "Rescue" button. Partial text files can be recovered in the event
part of the file has been overwritten. Data Rescue presents you with
the status of the files being recovered during the process.
//// Conclusions
Data Rescue is one of those programs that can save you from several
forms of self inflicted disasters. The built-in realtime intelligence
gives you efficient use of your disk space while providing the
advanced recovery features. Rejuvenating deleted files is very simple,
using "point and click" fully automated operation - you don't even
have to remember the file name as some other utilities require. I
highly recommend Data Rescue as a great addition to any Atari owners
collection of disk utilities.
//// Data Rescue
Requirements: Atari ST, STE, or TT computer.
Summary: Data recovery utility that tracks file and folder
deletions in realtime allowing them to be undeleted at any time.
Price: $59.95
Manufacturer:
Trace Technologies
PO Box 711403
Houston, TX 77271-1403
(713) 771-8332
--==--==--==--==--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- --==--==-- CompuServe Sign-Up Information --==--==-- --
-- --
-- To sign up for CompuServe service, call (voice call) (800) 848-8199. --
-- Ask for operator #198. You will be sent a $15.00 value CIS membership --
-- kit for free. --
-- --
-- --==--==-- CompuServe Sign-Up Information --==--==-- --
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--==--==--==--==--
||| AEO Calendar of Events
||| Compiled by: Ron Kovacs
/ | \ GEnie: Z-NET CIS: 75300,1642 Delphi: ZNET
----------------------------------------------------------------
//// Houston Atari Safari August 21, 1993
The fourth annual Houston Atari Safari will be held August 21st, 1993
(10 am to 5 pm) at the Jerabeck Athletic Center on the University of
St Thomas campus in Houston. Safari '93 is a major event on the 1993
Atari show calandar, and is the largest Atari show in Texas.
Admission is $3 (preteens admitted free when accompanied by parent),
and there will be doorprizes.
Vendor table set up can start at 8 am, August 21st. The show will be
open from 10 am to 5 pm. Tables will be available for reservation
until August 15th. Distributors, dealers, or clubs that have brochures
or flyers or demo disks that they would like to distribute at the show
should send these to arrive by August 18th for inclusion in the
"Safari Paks" given to each showgoer. The organizers anticipate around
300 attendees at the show.
Any items of this type should be sent to HACE, PO BOX 820335, Houston
TX, 77282-0335 or they can be sent to HACE (Attn: George Iken) at
11830 Westmere Drive, Houston TX, 77077. For information call (713)
493-0122 or use e-mail on GEnie (G.IKEN) or Delphi.
//// Interop '93 August 23-27, 1993
Interop '93 (#2) at the Moscone Center in San Fransisco, California.
//// ONE BBSCON '93 August 25-29, 1993
ONE BBSCON '93 at the Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
This is a four day exposition presented by BoardWatch Magazine. There
will be three days of educational services, a trade show exhibit area
with over one-hundred vendors on hand. For further information on
this event and for registration information contact: Peg Coniglio at
ONE Inc., 4255 South Buckley Road, Suite 308, Aurora, Colorado 80013.
Voice: (303) 693-5253; Fax: (303) 693-5518; BBS: (303) 693-5432.
//// PenExpo August 30 - September 3, 1993
PenExpo - The Pen-Based Computing Conference at the Hynes Convention
Center in Boston Massachusettes. Pen Exposition, Conference, and
Tutorials, Sponsored by Boston University Corporate Education Center
and PEN Magazine.
//// Fed Micro '93 August 31 - September 2, 1993
Fed Micro '93. Fed Micro CDROM and Multimedia Conference & Exposition.
Washington Convention Center, Washington DC.
//// BCS*Pen September 1, 1993
BCS*Pen Monthly Meeting at the Hynes Convention Center. Meeting begins
at 7pm. Topic: "The Market for Personal Information Processors".
Speaker: Donna Dubinsky, CEO, Palm Computing, Co-sponsored with
PenExpo.
//// The Glendale Show September 18-19, 1993
The Glendale Show returns with the Southern California Atari Computer
Faire, V.7.0, in suburban Los Angeles, California. This has been the
year's largest domestic Atari event, year after year. Contact John King
Tarpinian at the user group HACKS at 818-246-7286 for information.
//// MacWorld Expo September 20-22, 1993
The third MacWorld Expo, titled Canada '93 at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre, sponsored by MacWorld Magazine.
//// Mobile World Expo September 21-23, 1993
Mobile World Expo and Conference at the San Jose Convention Center in
San Jose California.
//// Unix Expo '93 September 21-23, 1993
Unix Expo '93 in New York City, New York at the Javits Convention
Center.
//// Image World October 4-8, 1993
Image World New York, Javits Convention Center, New York City.
//// NetWorld '93 October 5-7, 1993
NetWorld 93, Dallas Convention Center, Dallas TX.
//// Lap & Palmtop Expo October 7-8, 1993
Lap & Palmtop Mobile Computing Expo at the Chicago Mart/Expo Center
in Chicago, Illinois. Exhibitors will show the latest in mobile
computing, software, pen, peripherals and communications from the
industry's leading manufacturers. In conjunction with the exhibits is
the Mobile Systems Solutions Conference series. Featuring over 80
leading industry experts speakers, the conference provides vital
information needed to build or improve your world of mobile computing.
//// PC Expo October 19-21, 1993
PC Expo-Chicago, McCormick Place East, Chicago IL.
//// CD-ROM Expo October 27-29, 1993
CD-ROM Exposition at the World Trade Center, Boston MA.
//// EDA&T Asia '93 October 27-29, 1993
EDA&T Asia '93. The Electronic Design and Test Conference Exhibition
at the Taipei International Convention Center in Taiwan. Exhibit space
is still available. For more information contact: Betsy Donahue,
Chicago, Fax: 708-475-2794.
//// November 1-3, 1993
Online/CD-ROM '93, Washington DC.
//// GeoCon/93 November 7-10, 1993
GeoCon/93, an international conference and showcase for software
products developed outside the U.S. at the Royal Sonesta Hotel,
Cambridge, Mass. The conference program will include three days of
workshops on topics of interest to overseas developers entering the
U.S. market. Workshop presenters will discuss such issues as how to
negotiate distribution and licensing contracts, setting up a business
in the U.S., manufacturing and fulfillment, technical support,
packaging, research sources, and how to market through direct,
retail, and catalog channels. For additional information, contact Tom
Stitt, associate publisher, Soft letter, 17 Main St., Watertown, Mass.
02272-9154; Telephone 617-924-3944; Fax 617-924-7288, or Colleen
O'Shea, director, Soft letter Europe, 2 um Bierg, 7641 Chirstnach,
Luxembourg, Telephone: 35.2.87119; Fax: 35.2.87048.
//// COMDEX November 15-19, 1993
COMDEX Fall '93. Las Vegas Nevada.
//// Mobile '94 March 6-10, 1994
Mobile '94 Conference and Exposition at the San Jose Convention Center.
//// SAC Expo 94 March 12-13, 1994
S.T.A.R (formerly known as SST) proudly announces SAC Expo 94. The
second annual Sacramento Atari Computer Exposition will be held
Saturday and Sunday at the Towe Ford Museum: 2200 Front Street,
Sacramento, California 95818. The Towe Ford Museum was so excited
about the '93 show that they allocated nearly double the space in the
museum for SAC Expo 94. STAR will be mailing vendor packets by
September, if you are a vendor and did not receive a packet for SAC
Expo 93, please contact us so you will not be missed this year. Look
for future press releases containing more details, vendor lists, and
show information. For more information contact STAR at P.O. Box
214892, Sacramento, CA 95821-0892.
//// GEC '94 June 4-11, 1994
GEC '94, Milam ITALY. Centrexpo, Sheila Palka/Delia Associates, PO Box
338, Route 22 West, Whitehouse, NJ 08888; (800) 524-2193, (908)
534-6856 (Fax).
If you have an event you would like to include on the AEO Calender of
Events, please send email via GEnie to Z-NET, CompuServe 75300,1642, or
via FNET to node 593 or AtariNet node 51:1/13.0. International shows
also covered.
--==--==--==--==--
||| Japan: An American's View
||| By: Andreas Barbiero
/ | \ Delphi: ABARBIERO GEnie: AEO.2
------------------------------------------------------------------
While I am traveling the world courtesy of the United States Navy,
accompanied by my trusty TT030, I am a bit cut off from the latest in
computer related issues. I can not even find a copy of "Byte" or
"Computer Gaming World" on these bases! So, I thought you all would
enjoy a break from the latest exciting Atari news and join me on a
brief tour of Japan.
I have been lucky enough to see many places in the world, from Europe
to Africa, and all over the United States. Japan poses an interesting
counterpoint to these experiences. With a rudimentary knowledge of
Latin or Greek, just about everything in Europe is accessible to the
common American. If worst comes to worst, the basics of English can be
used to figure out what is being said and what the signs around town
are saying. In Japan, however, all bets are off. There is some use of
English in Japanese society, but it will not help you much when you
are looking for some help from TV, signs, or newspapers. English is
used mostly in brand names, and advertising to sometimes humorous
ends. Buying a blazingly hot "happy day" coffee or ice cold Pocari
Sweat soda from a vending machine is really a unique thing for most
Americans. Just about everything is available from vending machines,
from tea, to soda, whiskey, beer, and even pornography.
One thing that really struck me about Japan was an indefinite sense of
difference about the landscape, especially from what I am accustomed
to as an American. While towns and cities seem to have the same
similar structure, and power lines, roads and other edifices are still
the same. But when viewed from the air, these are scaled differently.
Smaller is the term that comes to mind, but it is more than that.
While most buildings are scaled smaller, and even with Japanese
dimensions in mind, there are other differences too. From the air, at
night, the most prominent feature of the American landscape has to be
our highways. The flow of cars over the roads in America never ends,
and the lights snake across the black areas between cities. In Japan
there are no major superhighways lighted with a never ending line of
cars and trucks; at least not in the same way that you can follow
highways from major cities in California.
I have been stationed at Misawa Air Base in Northern Japan since early
May. Misawa AB is a combined air base, meaning that both Navy and Air
Force planes are stationed here, supporting operations up and down the
western edge of Russia, Korea, China and the South Pacific. This is
where months of training pays off, since this is our opportunity to
fly and monitor hostile ships, planes, and submarines, out where they
operate. This is what Uncle Sam spent all those dollars on in training
us for in the last year. Even in the scaled back military climate the
world is in, a forward American presence is still important to keep an
eye on things and maintain a peaceful atmosphere. Besides it is a
really cheap way for an American to see Japan... just sign on the
dotted line....
Korea is also an interesting place. It is a third world country that
produces technology up to the par of the best that Japan and America
can produce. They also produce some of the most interesting night life
this side of Thailand. Osan, a town south of Seoul, has been the home
of an Air Force base for years, and a shopping destination for the P3
Navy for almost as long. Everything from brass beds to $25 dollar Nike
sneakers are available for sale. Many aircrews have been known to blow
$500 a person out in town and not just on presents for home. Most
sailors don't have much of a problem paying $5 for a beer, but when
you get cursed out by a girl in a bikini because you won't spend $15
on a shotglass of Kool-Aid for her, you might start to think that your
mother might have been right when she told you to stay out of these
places. Needless to say there's sure to be a Marine somewhere in that
bar who spent $300 on shotglasses of Kool-Aid. You could say he got a
bargain. Enough on that subject - my wife still has to edit this
article before Travis gets it!
I always like to try out the local specialties, from kimche to a
powerful booze called soju. When you are drinking soju, anything is
possible. Your first drink makes you think you are rich; by the
seventh, you are bulletproof. Japan may be cleaner and neater, but
even the notorious habu-sake (snake sake... really there is a huge
snake inside the jar!) pales in comparison. I like both places, and I
like the food in Japan better, but like the odd couple, the messy one
is more fun, and so is Korea. What can you say, lots of Occidental
guys like Oriental girls, and in Korea, they tend to be a bit taller,
and they don't look at you like you haven't washed for two weeks,
something the Japanese girls do.
Well, this concludes the first report from Japan, the next one will
take place after the magical per-diem check arrives, the goal of the
entire month, where I make my first sojourn into the wilds of northern
Japan, properly fortified with Yen. Five more months... lovin' it!
--==--==--==--==--
||| GEnie Atari ST RoundTable News
||| Courtesy: GEnie Atari ST RT (with thanks to John Hartman!)
/ | \ -------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Atari RT Weekly News 8.1
= REAL TIME CONFERENCES =
Dateline Atari with Bob Brodie! 10 p.m. EDT on Friday Night!
Join us for a FREE Real Time Conference on August 6th!
Hot Summer Nights in the ST RoundTable!
= ATARI RT LIBRARY =
= RTC TRANSCRIPS =
------------------------------------------------------
29523 DMJ_SOFT.ARC X MIKE-ALLEN 930729 15872 80 13
Desc: Transcript of DMJ Software RTC
29504 CLEAR_TH.ARC X BRIAN.H 930726 12800 56 13
Desc: Clear Thinking (EdHak) RTC 21 Jul 93
29388 STI_CN.ARC X BRIAN.H 930717 16512 146 13
Desc: Current Notes/ST Informer RTC 14 Jul
29335 DAVE_GBS.ARC X BRIAN.H 930711 20224 420 13
Desc: Gadgets (Dave Small) 7th July RTC
29310 BRODIE11.ARC X ST.LOU 930710 13184 594 13
Desc: Falcon/Jaguar/TT News!
28966 BRODIE10.ARC X ST.LOU 930605 17280 736 13
Desc: Falcon and Jaguar News from Bob!
------------------------------------------------------
= LAST MONTH'S PRESS RELEASES =
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29581 DATALITE.ASC X P.CURRY3 930804 4608 1 14
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Desc: WANT SOFTWARE FOR PUBLICATION
29510 211_UPGD.TXT X J.TRAUTSCHOL 930728 3200 133 14
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Desc: INFO ON FALCON 030 VIDEO
29470 FSCL0723.ASC X S.D.ELLIOTT 930723 14080 151 14
Desc: Falcon S/W Compatibility List 7/29
29467 GEMINI.TXT X ERICTREMBLAY 930723 1792 125 14
Desc: Press Release of the GEMini CDROM
29451 TOADFALC.ZIP X TOAD-SERV. 930722 3072 247 14
Desc: Info on Falcons & Accessories
29420 PDIRECT2.ASC X P-DIRECT 930719 2560 143 14
Desc: New Mag Brochure, Rates, User Group
29405 NOVAUPDT.ARC X LEXICOR2 930718 1664 114 14
Desc: Nova Special Update
29403 HOTFOOT.TXT X R.CONSTAN 930718 1920 101 14
Desc: HOTFOOT PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT
29382 TOADJULY.ZIP X TOAD-SERV. 930716 5504 375 14
Desc: TOAD COMPUTERS -- July Specials!
29372 STCAT_21.ZIP X B.VARGO 930716 259072 108 14
Desc: D & P Computer Disk Catalog
29371 JAG_NEWS.ARC X G.MATTHIJETZ 930716 4352 259 14
Desc: EET article about Atari Jaguar
29362 CAL_SL.UPD X POTECHIN 930714 4736 167 14
Desc: New Upgrade for Calamus SL from DMC
29345 BULKMAIL.LZH X J.EIDSVOOG1 930713 3072 157 14
Desc: CodeHead Giveaway (ASCII version)
29343 LEX_RESP.LZH X DABRUMLEVE 930712 3840 278 14
Desc: Response re Lexicor's expulsion
29324 GENPICS.LZH X GRIBNIF 930710 16768 189 14
Desc: Geneva Screen Shots (Medium/High)
29297 BLURIDG3.TXT X S.WINICK 930708 9088 29 14
Desc: Blue Ridge AtariFest Press Release
29293 DEVCDROM.ZIP X MIKE-FULTON 930708 11264 134 14
Desc: Atari Developer CDROM Announcement
29276 WALZPRESS.TXT X P.CURRY3 930707 1152 60 14
Desc: WalZ Breakout Now Available!
29274 MTW_108.DOC X B.NOONAN 930707 2176 42 14
Desc: MEDICAL DESIGNS SOFTWARE HAS MOVED.
29252 FONTSALE.TXT X POTECHIN 930705 1152 108 14
Desc: DMC PROFESSIONAL FONT SALE
29229 PR_7293.TXT X N.LANGDON4 930703 1280 109 14
Desc: SST name change and SAC Expo 94
29224 ZOCRA793.TXT X C.BUCHANAN3 930702 768 52 14
Desc: Zocra Technologies has Moved!
29188 IBM_JAG.TXT X BOB-BRODIE 930701 3456 569 14
Desc: Press release on IBM/Atari Alliance
29184 GEBETA.TXT X GRIBNIF 930630 1536 264 14
Desc: Geneva Beta Announcement
29183 GEDESC.TXT X GRIBNIF 930630 2304 249 14
Desc: Geneva - Brief Description
29182 GENEVA.TXT X GRIBNIF 930630 9088 321 14
Desc: Geneva Press Release
-----------------------------------------------------
= LAST MONTH'S DEMO RELEASES =
------------------------------------------------------
29573 WINNI.ZIP X A.FASOLDT 930802 31872 15 10
Desc: WINNI tests system window limit
29536 E_USA.LZH X BAGET 930730 42496 36 10
Desc: Eliemouse In the USA Map Program
29507 BULLY.ZIP X E.BAIZ 930727 111360 58 10
Desc: Play a nice game of darts.
29500 SQIIDEMO.ZIP X K.GERDES 930726 22016 89 10
Desc: DEMO of Squish II from TraceTech
29474 F_ROLL9.LZH X ST.LOU 930724 119168 40 10
Desc: DEMO.PRG for Falcon Demo Files
29464 F_ROLL8.ZIP X BOB-BRODIE 930723 859136 63 10
Desc: 8th of 8 files of the BEST Demo Yet!
29463 COMIK.LZH X BAGET 930723 34304 42 10
Desc: Comic Book Collector New Demo
29462 F_ROLL7.ZIP X BOB-BRODIE 930723 1137664 51 10
Desc: 7th of 8 files of the BEST Demo Yet!
29461 F_ROLL6.ZIP X BOB-BRODIE 930723 694144 71 10
Desc: 6th of 8 files of the BEST Demo Yet!
29460 F_ROLL5.ZIP X BOB-BRODIE 930723 1189888 68 10
Desc: The 5th of 8 File in The BEST Demo!
29455 F_ROLL4.ZIP X BOB-BRODIE 930722 1286016 64 10
Desc: 4th of 8 files of the BEST Demo Yet!
29454 F_ROLL3.ZIP X BOB-BRODIE 930722 1300480 64 10
Desc: 3rd of 8 files of the BEST Demo Yet!
29452 F_ROLL2.ZIP X BOB-BRODIE 930722 989056 93 10
Desc: 2nd of 8 files of the BEST Demo Yet
29448 F_ROLL1.ZIP X BOB-BRODIE 930722 288896 77 10
Desc: The BEST Falcon030 Demo to Date!!
29402 HOTFOOT.ARC X R.CONSTAN 930718 10752 57 10
Desc: Hands free control of ST Keyboard
29361 OMENINTR.TXT X CCARMICHAEL 930714 7552 61 10
Desc: Intro to OMEN for Developers
29328 OMENTT_D.ARC X CCARMICHAEL 930711 94592 62 10
Desc: GUI O/S for 68000s TT/Falcon Demo
29327 OMENST_D.ARC X CCARMICHAEL 930711 95360 125 10
Desc: New GUI O/S for 68000s ST Demo
29273 MTWDEMO8.LZH X B.NOONAN 930707 80256 52 10
Desc: DEMO of MultiWriter ver. 1.08
29226 SCRLTHUN.LZH X STEVE-J 930703 33664 41 10
Desc: Scrolling Thunder demo text viewer
29212 MC20.LZH X C.MULLER3 930702 246528 81 10
Desc: The Ultimate Finance Manager
------------------------------------------------------
= LAST TWO WEEK'S TOP 10 DOWNLOADED PROGRAMS =
------------------------------------------------------
29519 STZIP23.TOS X BRIAN.H 930728 127488 416 40
Desc: ST ZIP Version 2.3
29432 LHA_221.ZIP X GRMEYER 930720 81792 274 40
Desc: LHARC v2.21
29409 KABOOM.LZH X D.MUNSIE 930719 36224 207 8
Desc: A classic...fun & addictive!
29544 GVIEW232.LZH X STEVE-J 930731 646016 154 28
Desc: GEM-View v2.32 (Shareware)
29547 LHA210.LZH X R.BURROWS1 930731 57344 129 40
Desc: LHA v2.10 archiver for .LZH files
29423 KMTERM19.ZIP X H.HOFFMAN 930720 93056 117 7
Desc: KMTerm 1.9 full-featured Telcomm prg
29459 FPATCH.ZIP X MIKE-FULTON 930723 768 112 2
Desc: Falcon030 TOS patch
29458 MGIF_42B.ZIP X G.WOOD14 930722 74496 112 28
Desc: MGIF 4.2, ultra-fast mono GIF viewer
29478 RUNLOW13.LZH X A.WATSON6 930724 15360 110 2
Desc: Run Low Rez Programs From Medium Rez
29533 AW_INV.LZH X M.HEBERT1 930730 3712 109 6
Desc: AtariWorks Invoice Templates.
------------------------------------------------------
= LAST MONTH'S TOP 10 DOWNLOADED PROGRAMS =
------------------------------------------------------
29519 STZIP23.TOS X BRIAN.H 930728 127488 416 40
Desc: ST ZIP Version 2.3
29320 FROGGER.LZH X D.MUNSIE 930710 57984 323 8
Desc: A hopping good game! Try it...
29197 JURASSIC.LZH X BAGET 930701 42624 312 8
Desc: jurassic park computer interface
29432 LHA_221.ZIP X GRMEYER 930720 81792 274 40
Desc: LHARC v2.21
29409 KABOOM.LZH X D.MUNSIE 930719 36224 207 8
Desc: A classic...fun & addictive!
29341 YAHTZEE.LZH X R.NABITY 930712 29824 163 8
Desc: Yahtzee Dice Game
29311 MSA_2_32.LZH X E.JOLLEY 930710 25088 156 40
Desc: Magic Shadow Archiver II, v2.3+
29544 GVIEW232.LZH X STEVE-J 930731 646016 154 28
Desc: GEM-View v2.32 (Shareware)
29547 LHA210.LZH X R.BURROWS1 930731 57344 129 40
Desc: LHA v2.10 archiver for .LZH files
29327 OMENST_D.ARC X CCARMICHAEL 930711 95360 125 10
Desc: New GUI O/S for 68000s ST Demo
------------------------------------------------------
--==--==--==--==--
||| Developing Notes
||| Important items from TOS platform developers and supporters
/ | \ ---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Oregon Research Introduces DATAlite
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
DATAlite is a sophisticated product which combines powerful functions
with a transparent user interface to give you an extremely effective
"DISK DOUBLER" that compresses the data on your disks, thus seemingly
increasing storage capacity. This accomplished by using a combination
of advanced compression/de-compression techniques in the background.
Some of the key features of DATAlite are:
[] Compresses all types of files; data files, applications, etc,.
[] Works with both hard disks and all types of floppies; single-sided,
double sided and high density.
[] Can be installed automatically from the AUTO folder or just when
you require its services.
[] Wide choice of compression algorithms so that you can optimize for
size or for speed of access.
[] To add flexibility, compression can be a two-stage process; first
you "Format" the media to allow for compressed data and then you
"Optimize" the drive ie. actually compress the data.
[] Give full control over its cach size, allowing you to choose
between memory usage and speed of access to compress data.
[] All functions are controlled from an easy to use desk accessory and
you can even configure all the dialogs!
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
[] DATAlite works on all Atari 680x0 computers (Including the
ATARI FALCON 030) with 512Kb memory or more and a disk drive.
[] TOS 1.04 or higher is recommended
[] Monochrome and color monitors supported.
DATAlite has a suggested retail price of $79.95
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Missionware Software - Flash II Update
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Missionware Software is pleased to provide an online upgrade for
all current Flash II owners. We're now releasing Flash II version
2.11, which is a maintenance upgrade for all owners of Flash II
version 2.1. However, even if you never upgraded to version 2.1,
you'll still be able to upgrade your version 2.0 and 2.01 with this
patch! The file to look for is called "F211UPGD.LZH".
Flash II version 2.11 fixes a number of minor bugs that our beta
testers and users discovered in version 2.1. You only need to upgrade
to 2.11 if any of the following affected your operation:
[] Type Ahead Backspacing: When Rubout was selected and backspace was
used, the wrong character got erased from Flash II's internal TA
buffer. The text looked ok on the screen but was garbled when sent to
the port.
[] Capture Clear: When clearing a capture that had a marked block,
when the capture filled a second time with new data, the marked block
reappeared.
[] Silent Line with 0K Buffer: Silent Line would crash during
initialization if its buffer size was set to 0K bytes.
[] Wait For String Command: This was ignoring case when it should have
been case sensitive.
[] Keypad Enter: When using Keypad Application mode, the ENTER key was
sending the wrong escape sequences in the VT and ANSI modes.
[] "DL AS" Script Command: Added for compatibility with older versions
of Flash!. You can now download text as a file.
[] Memory Options: If "User" was selected and the memory specified was
256K or a multiple thereof, then the setting got chnaged to "All"
and 128K at boot time.
[] Terminal Timer: The timer now counts all the time, not just when
you dial a number or board. It resets to zero (0) when you use Dial
Number or Dial Board.
[] Cursor Position: In Vidtex and VT52 modes, if the host positioned
the cursor beyond the end of the screen the program crashed.
Missionware Software continues to strive to provide you with the best
support anywhere! Remember, version 2.11 is only an interim version.
We're planning on releasing version 2.2 fairly soon which adds even
more capabilities for all Atari machines and new features as well.
Version 2.2 will also be uploaded as a patch upgrade for all current
owners.
If you have any questions about any of our products or about this
patch upgrade, you can contact us right here. You can also contact us
by mail or phone. Our address is:
Missionware Software
354 N. Winston Drive
Palatine, Illinois 60067-4132
USA
phone: 708-359-9565
Thank you for supporting our products and the Atari line of computers!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
//// Pacific Software Is Looking for Authors
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
WE ARE LOOKING FOR SOFTWARE AUTHORS. WE ARE PUBLISHERS AND
DISTRIBUTORS OF SOFTWARE TO THE ATARI DEALER NETWORK. OUR STAFF CAN DO
THE COVER ART WORK, MANUALS, PRINTING, AND DUPLICATION. IF YOU HAVE A
FINISHED PRODUCT, OR WORK IN PROGRESS WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
WE ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN SOFTWARE FOR THE FALCON.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED YOU CAN CONTACT ME HERE ON GENIE. WE WILL ACCEPT
SAMPLES OR FINISHED WORK FOR REVIEW BY E-MAIL (P.CURRY3)
PETER CURRY
CWEST / PACIFIC SOFTWARE SUPPLY
--==--==--==--==--
|||
||| Shutdown ............................ Power off, EXIT, BYE, Logoff
/ | \ ------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
We welcome feedback from all of our readers; feedback both positive
and negative. Whatever you think of our efforts, we sincerely would
like to know. Our EMail addresses are sprinkled throughout each
issue - with the new Internet gateway into GEnie, you can reach us
through the Internet also. Append "@genie.geis.com" to any of our
GEnie addresses.
Until the next issue of AEO, I remain,
Your Editor
Travis Guy
Internet: aeo.mag@genie.geis.com
--==--==--==--==--
(This issue printed on recycled photons)
--==--==--==--==--
DNFTEC
--==--==--==--==--
Atari Explorer Online Magazine is a bi-weekly publication covering the
Atari computer community. Material published in this issue may be
reprinted under the following terms only: articles must remain unedited
and include the issue number and author at the top of each article
reprinted. Reprint permission is granted, unless otherwise noted at the
beginning of the article, to registered Atari user groups and not for
profit publications. Opinions presented herein are those of the individual
authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff, or of the
publishers.
--==--==--==--==--
Atari, ST, Mega ST, STE, Mega STE, TT030, Atari Falcon030, TOS,
MultiTOS, NewDesk, BLiTTER, Atari Lynx, Atari Jaguar, Atari Portfolio,
and the Atari Fuji Symbol are all trademarks or registered trademarks
of Atari Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned in this issue
belong to their respective owners.
--==--==--==--==--
Atari Explorer Online Magazine
"Your Only Independent Atari Online"
Copyright (c) 1993, Subspace Publishers
* * *
* * *
* * *
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:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: A E O :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: Volume 2 - Issue 14 ATARI EXPLORER ONLINE 8 August 1993 ::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
