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Z*NET Online Magazine Issue 240
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Volume 5, Number 4 Z*NET ONLINE January 26, 1990
------------
(½) 1990 by Rovac Industries, Inc.
Post Office Box 59
Middlesex, New Jersey 08846
Z*NET ONLINE BBS (201) 968-8148
CompuServe Mail - 71777,2140 GEnie Mail - Z-NET
=======================================================================
ISSUE #240 TABLE OF CONTENTS
---------- -----------------
* THIS WEEK
Namm pictures available and more................Ron Kovacs
* Z*NET NEWSWIRE
ST Journal, Portfolio Update, Pointer Sisters, PCD2.......
* NAMM EXCLUSIVE REPORT
Report from last weeks NAMM Show.................John Nagy
* Z*NET INDUSTRY NEWSWIRE
Apple, Born On The Fourth, American Airlines..............
* CANADIAN ATARI CONVENTION
Press Release from TAF....................................
* REVOLUTIONARY RESULTS
Update on the Revolution from the Z*Net BBS...............
* ST STACK
Weekly Shareware PD Update.....................Alice Amore
* PD PUB
Monochrome/PD Files Review......................Mark Quinn
* GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION
Animate 4 Fix..............................Ctsy CompuServe
* THE CLUB ROOM
Publishing a User Group Newsletter.............Jim Chapman
* SERIAL CABLES
How to Make your own.............................Bill Graf
* LINE NOISE
Messages from our readers.................................
* THIS WEEK
-----------> by Ron Kovacs
-------------
Earlier this week we released a number of NAMM pictures. Included in
these archived DEGAS pics: Mic Fleetwood, Jimmy Hotz, Bob Brodie, and
more all captured by John Nagy at NAMM last weekend.
By request of our readers, we will no longer provide LZH formatted files
for download on the services. Our following of 8-bit readers have NO
WAY to extract the file.
This week we are reporting on the NAMM show with an EXCLUSIVE report by
John Nagy. Along with this report, the Z*NET Newswire contains more
info from the show and details of a NEW Atari related publication coming
this spring.
Please give the Z*NET BBS a call at (201) 968-8148, 3/12/24, and let us
know if your BBS carries us as a download. We provide an add-on BBS
list, interesting message bases and animations by Robert Ford, aka The
CyberPunk. Robert has recently joined the staff and is our BBS Co-
SysOp.
* Z*NET NEWSWIRE
----------------> ATARI NEWS FIRST
----------------
CROSBY GOES TO MIGRAPH:
Jay Crosby, longtime right hand to Sig Hartmann at Atari (until Sig's
November '89 "retirement" to become VP at TeleVideo), announced this
week that he will leave Atari to join MIGRAPH. Jay and family will be
moving Washington State shortly to do programming for the well known and
respected software house. Migraph's best known ST products include EASY
DRAW, TOUCH-UP, and the HAND SCANNER. Migraph's Liz Mitchell says that
the new IBM versions of the ST applications are selling great all over
the world, but that efforts will shortly focus on a new ST graphics
publication package to premiere sometime in the spring.
ST JOURNAL TO DEBUT:
Amid the closings of many formerly popular ST magazines (ANALOG, ST-LOG,
ST-EXPRESS, etc.), a new magazine will begin publication this spring.
ST JOURNAL will be a serious-minded monthly patterned more like PC
magazines and less like gamer tabloids. To be available in late March
with an April cover date, the first issue will go to 10,000 or more ST
users. Editor Tim Lewis and production/art director Steve Lesh have
experience in other Atari magazines, and expect to set a new standard of
excellence and service in a "real user" publication. Headlining
columnists and contributing editors include Andrew Reese, John Nagy,
Jim Allen, John King Tarpinian, Norman Weinress, and more. Contact
QUILL Publishing, 818-332-0372 for more information.
PORTFOLIO A HIT BUT OH WHAT A BITE:
Dealers have had an alarming return rate on defective Portfolio
computers. The breast-pocket wonder sells like hotcakes, but
distribution people have mentioned that returns of some production runs
reaches as high as 80% DEFECTIVE. Newer machines appear to be more
reliable.
COMMODORE SORE OVER AD FLOP:
Insiders at Commodore Business Machines reported that the recent huge
AMIGA advertising campaign was so costly that it would take a 38%
increase in AMIGA sales to break even. Now that the dust has settled
and the last of the famous visitors have left the levitated house of the
Spielberg commercials, the results are in: Amiga sales are indeed up...
by about 10%. Commodore may again be in SERIOUSLY DIRE financial
straits in 1990.
POINTER SISTERS CHANGE SIDES AGAIN:
Last year at NAMM and other shows, the Pointer Sisters band appeared to
promote ATARI. Much of their album and show performances relied on MIDI
equipment controlled by Atari. So when the Pointer Sisters appeared at
the now-infamous floating house of Amiga on the TV ads, we wondered why.
More recently, the Band is back in the Atari camp, appearing again at
NAMM. Members report that they did indeed get AMIGA equipment, and
actually used it. It took experience to lead them to finally sort out
the Atari disks from the Amiga ones, and retire the Amigas to the
closet. From now on, it is ATARI all the way for the Pointer Sisters.
PC-DITTO II SORTA SHIPPING:
Avant-Garde of Florida has indeed begun shipping their new hardware IBM
Emulator. Although no dealers have the units yet, some early orderers
have at last received their PC-DITTO II. The good news ends there,
though. Almost all of the owners reporting to date have had problems.
The new emulator is very large, and does not fit in some 1040/520
computers... at least not with the keyboard installed! If that weren't
bad enough, many simply do not work, and many more were shipped without
documentation or without the software required to activate the emulator.
AG is still refusing to do phone support (or even take machine messages
or talk to anyone at all) while they scamper to try to patch one crisis
after another. The long view still seems to favor AG and most users
expect the problems to eventually be resolved. But in the meantime, PC-
SPEED, being imported from Germany by MICHTRON, is getting a lot of
sales and supporters.
(Editors Note: In a recent message to a Z*Net associate, AG stated that
there will be a software upgrade released shortly to correct a timing
problem with SOME systems. Look for this update shortly!)
BOMB SQUAD:
You have heard that the "driver" chips in your ST may be "weak" and
causing bombs since you got TOS 1.4? Could be. But some technicians
are saying this "solution" is being oversold. Although the 74LS373
chips in question can certainly be a problem, they almost ONLY are the
source of bombs that occur when a cartridge is present, or after
changing a 2-chip TOS set to a 6-chip set. Still have random bombs?
Yet another patch file for TOS 1.4 has just been released by Atari that
MIGHT solve it. POOLFIX3.PRG is a small AUTO file to be run at startup.
IT adjusts the way TOS stores and allocates the pool of file and
directory names. A problem can occur without the fix if there are LOTS
of folders being encountered in hard drives. POOLFIX.PRG is not
expected to change life for a lot of users, but for some, adding this
file to the AUTO folder appears to have totally ended a few weeks of
life in a mine field. It uses only 2K, and is available on GEnie,
CompuServe, and most good BBS systems. BEWARE versions 1 and 2,
released only weeks earlier. They made things WORSE! Ok, STILL
bombing? Maybe you recently upgraded your hard drive to the latest ICD
boot software driver? Some users have found that using the newest
booter (Version 4.2.1) WITHOUT reformatting their hard drive is
resulting in random crashes. Backup, format, restore, and things may
all be fine. The docs don't say to expect this to be required, but
bloody experience has borne it out. Good luck. The new booter is worth
the effort.
NEW AD AGENCY FOR ATARI:
IN a press release this week, Atari announced that Marken and Associates
will no longer be the Atari media and ad representative. Replacing Andy
Marken and company is BOB THOMAS AND ASSOCIATES running public relations
and media, with advertising managed through CHIAT/DAY/MOJO, considered
by many to be a superlative agency. Atari says it needed a larger firm
to be able to handle the growth and marketing approaches that will
encompass a wide line of computers. Marken had been handling Atari for
about a year, and had done good work with media kits and information.
BT&A has offices at 228 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266,
as well as in New York and Toronto. Thomas, et al, can be reached at
213-376-6978.
* NAMM EXCLUSIVE REPORT
-----------------------> ATARI ONCE AGAIN THE COMPUTER OF CHOICE
---------------------------------------
Eyewitness Report by John Nagy
[Note: Pictures of the Atari booth and a number of the people and
products mentioned in this article are available in the GEnie,
Compuserve, and BBS libraries. They were made using the VIDI-ST
digitizer and can be viewed with any DEGAS compatible picture viewer.
Z*Net is proud to be able to continue our tradition of not just telling
the news, but actually SHOWING it to you!]
The National Association of Music Merchants show (NAMM) is a lot like a
visit to the Twilight Zone... a peculiar mixture of tight leather and
Brooks Brothers Suits... just what you would expect to see at the corner
of New York's Wall Street and Los Angeles' Sunset Boulevard. You
quickly pick up the protocols, though: don't stare at the pink hair.
Apparently it is more acceptable to stare at the women in the revealing
outfits that are plentiful both in the exhibits and in the audience.
NAMM, the "international music market", is where music dealers,
performers, integrators, manufacturers, etc., meet each year to set the
agenda for the coming sales months. Everything musical is here, from
banjo string companies through to the million dollar studio mix
consoles. It draws big name performers both to see what the industry
has new to offer and to support various companies with their
endorsements and performances. The crowd is a wild mix of users and
business persons sporting the full range of tattered levis and torn tie-
died T-shirts with a safety pin in their nose up through immaculate 3-
piece suits. And of course, music is coming at you from everywhere.
This year's Winter NAMM is no different. Held in the Anaheim Convention
Center next door to Disneyland January 19-21, it had close to a thousand
exhibitors and maybe 100,000 visitors and sprawled into the Hilton and
Towers and Marriott hotel convention facilities. There are literally
miles of isles. It is a CES of music. In the midst of this, a 54'
banner hung over the central snack bar, announcing "BEYOND MIDI - THE
NEXT GENERATION FROM ATARI". A two room suite above the main floor
beckons to show goers and offering a private meeting lobby and a
completely outfitted recording studio.
Atari brought nearly 20 STACY laptop ST machines to NAMM, and 10 of them
went directly to the floor display of DR. T, a leader in MIDI software.
Others were on display in the Atari lobby, and one was controlling
sounds in the Atari studio next door. On hand for Atari were Donny
Osmond, Jimmy Hotz, and Mick Fleetwood, who are also associated with a
small Atari quarterly project called MIDI MAGAZINE. Hotz and Fleetwood
are also involved in a project that many thought had died off... the
ATARI/HOTZ MIDI TRANSLATOR.
The keyless keyboard of the Hotz box was central stage at the Atari
studio. This is said to be a real production version of the first model
HOTZ box to be commercially available. All that was lacking on this one
was the silk-screening on the back to identify the ports, and discussion
overheard at the show indicated that some internal bracing should be
beefed up, but what we saw, touched, even played with at NAMM will be
shipping very shortly. This particular unit was used in the latest
FLEETWOOD MAC LP and would be heading back into the real recording
studio for more work as soon as NAMM was over.
Whatz a Hotz? Well, it is sorta like a keyboard, but there are no
moving pieces. The play surface is hard plastic, with no apparent give.
Ridges and colors mark off different zones and rows of places to touch,
but no marking are on any. The concept seems to be that you decide what
does what. The box is an input device, but the heart of the HOTZ is the
software. This program controls the ranges and harmonies available at
any given time to match that of whatever music you are playing with.
Set up properly, any child will be able to use the device and make/add
pleasing music, playing with standard CD records. Encoded on the CD
will be a few inaudible electronic bursts that tell the Hotz what to do
when to keep things in tune. NO, it's NOT a "player piano" idea at all.
You can choose the instrument and depth of chords, and choose the timing
and notes to play. Hotz just makes sure the harmonies match and the
notes are in the right chord structure. The result is that any
improvisation, any guitar solo, anything you can imagine (hear) in your
head, you can play without the usual "clashes" of mistakes. In the
studio, the input parameters would be keyed in before performance, with
the same result. Perfect keying on solos and fills, with the musician
free to create mood, depth, and accent. Musicians are by and large VERY
interested in the Atari/Hotz device. It can be ordered NOW for a mere
$7,000 by calling Atari at 408-745-4966. A consumer version is to be
announced later in the year.
The STACY drew plenty of attention as well, plugged into the MIDI setup
and controlling the remarkable music that Hotz and Fleetwood
demonstrated for small groups of visitors throughout the show.
The other star of the MIDI studio was an audio-visual setup at the far
end of the room. With it, Scott Gershin of SOUNDELUX showed how he did
the sound and music for the Golden Globe Award winning movie "BORN ON
THE FOURTH OF JULY" starring Tom Cruise. Scott did the sound for the
blockbuster film using ATARI and MIDI equipment. To demonstrate, Scott
showed us a raw edit of part of the movie with all the original sound
recorded at the time. Although the visuals were great, the sound was
horrid. Scott started tweaking, "sweetening", and adding sound effects.
The Atari's whirred, and Scott described how Tom Cruise re-dubbed the
lines for later insertion. In minutes, we viewed the same clip with
fabulous stereo sound, stirring music, and clean clear voices and
effects. Then Scott popped a cart out of the Atari Megafile 44
removable media hard drive and said, "Everything you just heard came off
this drive. I can non-destructively re-edit, extend, move any part of
it as many times as I want with no degradation in the digital quality
sound." He said his full set of sound files for "BORN ON THE FOURTH"
run a total of nearly 55 GIGABYTES of data, almost impossible to handle
before the removable media made it easy. About four minutes of full-
sample finished stereo mix audio can be held on each 44 megabyte
cartridge. Scott says it is the commercial sound media of the future.
SoundDelux can be reached at 7060 Hollywood Blvd, Suite 711, Hollywood,
CA 90028, (213) 463-3855.
Another neat discovery in the Atari Studio was the SYSTEM SOLUTIONS
modified MEGA machines. They are rack-mountable and a sexy BLACK color
(even the mouse!) to better travel with road musicians. The MST2-RACK
(2 meg) runs $2299, $2999 for the MST4-RACK. Rackable hard drives and
monitor equipment is also available. Contact Henry Bahr at System
Solutions, PO Box 433, West Chicago, Illinois 60185, or call (708) 690-
0930.
Visitors to the Atari lobby found plenty of good literature, informed
people (including Jay Crosby, Frank Foster, Wayne Smith, Bob Brodie,
Diane Goralchec, Charles Cherry, and John King Tarpinian), and a stack
of PORTFOLIOS. But the item that was the biggest disruption to progress
was undoubtedly the pair of LYNX games that absolutely everyone HAD to
get their hands on.
Atari's booth looked pretty good, considering the machines and supplies
needed to assemble it barely made it to the show. Workers and
volunteers from Orange County Atari User Groups arranged to have three
days to set up... one more than anyone thought would be needed. Well,
the equipment was mixed up and sent to the wrong airport, arriving two
days late. Yikes. Long and hard work paid off with a good display, and
Atari rewarded volunteers with Portfolios and even a pair of MEGA 4
computers for their outstanding efforts.
The Atari exhibit did not draw the traffic that it might have on the
main floor, but that was a trade off for privacy and ability to let the
demos really scream. Some visitors were put off by the relatively "off
limits looking" entrance door and stairs up to the booth, thinking that
this was for employees or by invitation, despite the large ATARI sign
above it. On the other hand, no one that came to the show LOOKING for
Atari (lots!) would have missed it, and Atari had plenty of floor
exposure in third party booths. This is one major show where the
AVERAGE person knows who/what/why ATARI is about.
What about the "other" computer companies? Well, it turns out that
COMMODORE did in fact sneak a last minute booth into the show, but it
was at the furthest corner of the furthest hall... and was largely
boring. One Amiga was running some sort of sequencer (in color of
course) but most of the display had nothing to do with MIDI or music.
As a result, few attendees had time for browsing there. NO OTHER
computer maker was there at all.
Friday night's concert was also delayed by the equipment foul up, but
went on as planned, featuring the members of the band CREAM at the
Disneyland Hotel. Now called the JACK BRUCE BAND, they played after the
MICHEAL SHRIEVE BAND (including POLICE guitarist Dave Torn). Frankly,
most of the Atari people were so worn out from the hectic day, no one
we talked to stayed for the whole concert! Lots of music industry
people did, though, and seemed to be very happy with the performances.
The concert was co-sponsored by MUSICIAN MAGAZINE.
European music magazines are said to be "fighting" over who will get to
co-sponsor a concert and presentation with Atari at the upcoming
Frankfort Show. Sort of a German NAMM, it is the continent's most
prestigious music event of the year. We'll keep you posted as we find
out more.
We already know that ATARI will be sponsoring the 24th anniversary WORLD
TOUR of Fleetwood Mac, and Atari's Frank Foster will be going along on
part of that tour. The largest tour ever for the band, it will begin in
March in Australia. Atari will be the technology provider, and Frank
will go along to conduct seminars and "grassroots" level support for the
MIDI market of Atari. The HOTZ box will be a key part of the musical
support Fleetwood Mac will use on tour.
There was lots more to NAMM... more than one week's worth of news. So
next week, Z*Net will tell you about the MIDI developers meeting and
some exciting details about MIDI-TASKING. Yes, as we exclusively
reported 2 weeks ago, Atari did show their endorsed multitasking system
to developers. It looks -REAL GOOD- and we'll tell you what we can
about it next week. Suffice to say for now, this system is REAL and can
be ready to ship to consumers in the next 3-6 months. It is expected to
be part of a bundle of MIDI software, including a HOTZ startup package,
to be included with the STACY laptop ST... which should start shipping
to dealers by February 1!
We'll have a lot of other announcements and reactions from the
developers at NAMM, all -an ONLY- in next week's Z*Net.
* Z*NET INDUSTRY NEWSWIRE
-------------------------> NEWS WITHOUT THE VIEWS
----------------------
SONY PREMIERS MACINTOSH-UNIX:
Sony Microsystems at UniForum 1990, demonstrated for the first time its
"Worknetting Server." The server opens Apple Macintosh and MS-DOS
networks to the Unix operating system without requiring Unix experience
on the part of the users, provides Macintosh networks with the high-
performance I/O throughput necessary to handle large network activity
and makes accessible the nearly limitless storage provided by Sony's
optical products.
BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY:
While dominating The Foreign Press Association's awards last weekend,
"BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY" was also winning the battle at the box office
with a gross of $6.2 million. The drama of a Marine who is wounded in
combat and comes home a paraplegic and an anti-war activist captured
Golden Globe awards for best picture, best actor, best director and best
screenplay.
AMERICAN AIRLINES SELECTS GRID:
American Airlines announced it has selected GRiD Systems as exclusive
vendor for its battery-powered, laptop computer purchases in 1990. An
initial multi-million dollar order was placed this month. GRiD was
selected as American's exclusive vendor after the company did extensive
research and testing on available laptops. Laptops acquired in the
purchase will be used by American's passenger sales group, a direct
sales force. The laptops will enable American's sales representatives
to serve accounts more efficiently. The sales agents also will use the
laptops for word processing and account management.
* CANADIAN ATARI USERS CONVENTION
---------------------------------> PRESS RELEASE
-------------
The Toronto Atari Federation, sponsor of the upcoming SECOND CANADIAN
ATARI USERS' CONVENTION, is a non-profit users' group whose sole aim is
to serve the Atari community in Canada. As a user group, we understand
fully how attendance at computer shows can amount to a major item in the
yearly budget. However, we feel strongly that user groups are key
players in the world of Atari. Therefore, we are offering a special,
reduced rental rate for booths to all Atari user groups. As an Atari
user group, your fee will be 57% off the regular Exhibitor's Rate. That
is, you pay only $125.00 Canadian.
The SECOND CANADIAN ATARI USERS' CONVENTION will certainly be the major
Atari event of the year. The previous Convention was a runaway success,
and we are determined to outdo ourselves in 1990. We hope that you will
want to share in the excitement with us. This special offer for user
groups is subject to the availability of booths. Only one booth per
user group at this special price. To ensure that your user group does
not miss out, please respond as soon as possible.
* Please note that booths rented at the special reduced rate for user
groups may not, in every instance, be a standard 10' x 10' due to the
shape of the room.
Dear Exhibitor
The Toronto Atari Federation is pleased to announce an event of special
interest to Atari dealers and user groups. The SECOND CANADIAN ATARI
USERS' CONVENTION will be held on April 1, 1990 at the Airport Hilton
Hotel, 5875 Airport Rd. Mississauga, Ontario.
This special event comes as a direct result of the demand, both from
dealers and users, which followed the highly successful "First Canadian
Atari Users' Convention," held in November, 1988. That show exceeded
everybody's expectations, drawing a crowd of over 2,000 attendees in
just 5 hours, generating a great deal of business for participating
retailers, receiving very favourable reviews in magazines such as Antic,
STart and Computer Shopper, and attracting a surprisingly large
percentage of attendees from outside the Toronto area and from the
United States.
A conservative estimate of attendance for the upcoming show is 3,000
attendees, making this event the largest gathering of Atari users ever
in Canada. Dealers can look forward to immediate contact with a very
large segment of the Atari market. For dealers this is the premium
segment of the market - attendees are eager, enthusiastic and ready to
make significant hardware and software purchases. Users will be drawn
by a very wide variety of exhibitors and other attractions.
Exhibitors' costs will be kept as low as possible, since we are a non-
profit users' group whose only aim is to serve the Atari community in
Canada. Admission prices will also be kept low in order to attract the
largest crowd possible.
The SECOND CANADIAN ATARI USERS' CONVENTION will feature, retailers,
displays by software developers and hardware manufacturers, guest
speakers conducting a day-long series of seminars in our lecture rooms,
and a major exhibition by Atari Canada. The Airport Hilton Hotel is an
excellent hotel with the highest reputation and first-rate convention
facilities, conveniently located on the Toronto Airport Strip near
several major expressways and right on the public transit system. Room
rates will be specially discounted for everyone connected with the
Convention.
Our promotion of the Convention will be even more dynamic and
professional than in 1988, supported by a much larger budget. The
advertising campaign will include major newspaper advertisements, press
releases, posters, pamphlets, and a BBS campaign across North America.
If you are interested in obtaining more information on how to be an
exhibitor at Canada's Atari event of the Year, please feel free to call
one of the phone numbers listed below or leave mail on GEnie to
M.SEARL1. Booths will measure 10'x10' and will be curtained on three
sides; one 8' table, draped. One Hydro outlet is included in the booth
price. Power bars and extension cords are the responsibility of the
exhibitor. Extra tables are also available for a nominal charge. We
expect all booths to be sold well before the show date. To confirm your
participation in the Second Canadian Atari Users' Convention, please
Respond as soon as possible. For inquiries, do not hesitate to call me
at (416) 477-2085 or Mike Searl at (416) 245-5543. A FAX number will be
provided from Feb 1st to April 1st for your convenience. The number
will be (416) 245-5089.
Yours truly, Paul Collard, Convention Coordinator
The Canadian Atari Users Convention
Press Information For Immediate Release
The Second CANADIAN ATARI USERS' CONVENTION
==========================================
The largest gathering ever of Atari computer users in Canada is expected
at the upcoming Second Canadian Atari Users' Convention to be held at
the Airport Hilton Hotel On April 1, 1990 from 10am to 6pm. Sponsored
by the Toronto Atari Federation, one of the largest computer user groups
in North America, the Convention will offer the public a once-a-year
opportunity to see what is new and exciting in the world of Atari.
There will be exhibits, seminars and demonstrations by a wide variety of
retailers, guest speakers, user groups from Canada and the U.S.,
software developers and hardware manufacturers. "Show Special" prices
offered by retailers, Public Domain software from user groups and
reduced room rates at the Airport Hilton ensure bargains for everyone.
A special feature will be a major exhibition by Atari Canada, where a
full range of their product line, from 8-bit computers and game
machines, through 1040ST's, Mega 2's, Mega 4's and PC clones will be on
display. One of the biggest draws is sure to be the recently released
and widely praised Atari Portfolio, an MS-DOS compatible computer which
fits in the inner pocket of a business suit and the latest new Atari STE
and STacy.
Other highlights include new products, several from Europe, which enable
the ST line to emulate IBM and Macintosh machines more quickly and more
easily than ever. The Second Canadian Atari Users Convention is being
held at the Airport Hilton Hotel, located on Toronto Airport Strip, 5875
Airport Rd., Mississauga, Ontario.
For more information contact our Public Info-Line at (416) 425-5357, or
the TAF On-Line BBS at (416) 235-0318
* REVOLUTIONARY RESULTS
-----------------------> FROM THE Z*NET BBS
------------------
Message : 392 [Open] 1-25-90 3:37am
From : Timekeeper
To : All
Subject : New Atari Dealer!
Sig(s) : 2 (The REVOLUTION!)
Recently, I stopped in a computer store out of curiosity to see if they
carried any ST software, not that it surprised me, but no they didn't
stock any. However, I talked to them for awhile, and showed them my
official REVOLUTION member ID and explained what the REVOLUTION is about
and how there are lots of us Atari's out here who want/need a local shop
to purchase our hardware/software. After discussing it with them, they
said they would be able to carry the Atari products IF through BBS's we
could get enough people to call the store and tell them you are from the
REVOLUTION and would like them to carry Atari products. This is not for
just the local guys either because they also handle mail order, sooo
lets get these calls/letters rolling, I for one would love to have a
place to get software/hardware without having to drive for an hour or
two just to look at whats out/new. We need all the people we can get to
do this! If you took the time to read this document, please take the
time to make a 40 second phone call to them.
The store is:
TV ONE
Computer/Video
Discount Computers & Software
Sales * Service * Training
#7 Delsea Plaza, Delsea Dr. Westville, NJ 08093
(609)848-3770 Fax(609)853-1229
And the best part of it all is that they are currently 75% Amiga, so we
will be moving in on their territory!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Timekeeper is proud to be a member of The REVOLUTION! Any comments
would be appreciated...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* ST STACK
----------> WEEKLY UPDATE
-------------
by Alice Amore
KDODLR15.ARC <--------- !This file is SHAREWARE!
Programmer: Kristofer H. Cruz
KDOODLER, version 1.5, has grown from a mildly interesting doodler into
a full-featured graphics drawing program. Its many features include the
following:
Color or mono Imports PrintMaster shapes
Imports MacPaint files Magnify or fatbits
Separate color palettes Editable fills
Color Fills Improved error checking
Four working screens Cut-N-Paste, Buffer, Blend
Screen inversion Copy-N-Paste, Buffer
D.E.G.A.S.-compatible Bit Image (Doodle) Format
Contrasting Bezier Curves
Editable text Editable paint
Editable linetypes Text rotation
Image mirroring Image ghosting
Image negatives Circles, ellipses, box, Rbox
Chalk Rubberbanding
Lines Undo command
Printing position line FULL MacPaint window
Circular arcs Variable spray paint
Elliptical arcs
Loads NeoChrome pics (low res only).
Ability to mix two D.E.G.A.S. or BIF files with a MacPaint file.
Improved printer dump (skips null lines).
Import MacPaint files into most ST DTP programs (mono only).
Epson screen dump supports single, double, and triple strike.
If you enjoy doodling of the high tech sort, you'll enjoy KDOODLER.
""""""""""""
CALSUATE.ARC <--------- !This file is SHAREWARE!
Programmer: Does Compute Software
Are you dieting? Here's a program which handles all the drudgery of
computing caloric intake, and whipping up daily and weekly menus. The
"food library window" contains food name, serving size, and calorie
total. Use the three "meal windows" to store daily intake. Just point,
click, and drag a food from the library into a meal window. A calorie
total is displayed above each meal window at all times making it easy to
avoid exceeding your desired total. A grand menu can be printed out
from your data. It will help you track your intake from day-to-day and/
or week-to-week. After your data is entered, you can print out daily
or weekly menus.
Although the food library is skimpy, you can add your own foods,
providing your serving sizes and calorie counts are accurate. If you're
not sure, you can order a heftier food list directly from the
programmer.
"""""""""""
GEMDESK.ARC <--------- !This file is SHAREWARE!
Programmers: Gereon Steffens and Stefan Eissing
GEMDESK is an impressive piece of shareware from W. Germany.
Unfortunately, the documentation is completely in German, although the
program itself is fully English. (We would hope that some kind bi-
lingual will translate the documentation and upload an English version).
At the heart of GEMDESK is GEMINI, the actual desktop alternative.
GEMINI has all the usual desktop doo-dads, plus some extras. Most
display options can be user-configured right on the desktop. Some of
the features we've all been hungering for are here: an icon editor,
icons in two sizes, unsorted directories, delete disk, and a (seemingly)
extensive command line-ish editor. I encountered numerous "bugs", but,
without documentation, who knows what a bug looks like?
This is a big file, almost 300K in ARCed format. If you have room for
it, fine. Take a look at this file for yourself. If you uncover any
goodies, let everyone know.
GEMDESK supports extended res. It must be deARCed using ARC 6.02.
""""""""""""
S_STUDIO.ARC
Programmer: Cory Chapman
SPRITE STUDIO, a low resolution painting program written in GFA BASIC,
helps in creating sprites for games and animations. Any file can be
loaded (raw data included), but most will find the program useful for
working with DEGAS and NeoChrome files. You can draw, fill, airbrush,
change the color palette, make frames, boxes, circles, and discs. Also
supported are magnify, line, text entry (four different sizes), line
size (8 choices), plus many more options. A specialty is the ability to
cut and paste between two graphic windows.
""""""""""
SEXIST.ARC <--------- !This file is SHAREWARE!
Programmer: Albert Baggetta
"Sexist" is a dirty word nowadays. If you are one (and you sexists know
who you are, I'm sure), you might want to keep that fact out of your
written work. And if you're not a sexist, you still may be guilty of
using a lot of sexist language without even knowing it.
SEXIST is a program which scans ASCII files for gender-related words,
then gives you the percentile of male-related and female-related words
in the document. Although this program won't change your attitude, it
may improve your writing slant.
""""""""""""
FLEXSORT.ARC <--------- !This file is SHAREWARE!
Programmer: Albert Baggetta
"Flexi-Sort" is a sorting program for ASCII files. It will do its best
work with files containing lists (of people, places, things). I tried
it with various sorts of ASCII files, and it became confused with most
of them. But with simple, standard lists, it worked very well. You
might want to try it yourself with file lists and such.
Sorting can be done in ascending or descending order. You can sort on
every line, every other line, or every third, fourth, or fifth line.
You can also sort on an initial line character.
Once your file is sorted, it can be loaded into your word processor for
further work.
""""""""""""
COMPRESS.ARC
Programmer: Mike Hughes
This program compresses low resolution D.E.G.A.S. files (*.PI1), loads
them all into memory at once, then displays them at breakneck speed.
This is done by using only low res picture files and ignoring color
cycling. Supposedly, this program will do a better compression job than
TINY STUFF.
Two programs are included. One does the compression, and the other does
the displaying. During display, you can adjust the speed. There is
also a toggle which causes the display to start again with the first
picture file after the last one has been seen.
""""""""""""
FLIPSIDE.LZH
Programmer: Derrick A. Hall
FLIPSIDE will let you read double-sided disks on a single-sided drive.
However, you must use the included formatting program or any other good
formatter which allows 10 sectors. Side One will be readable on single/
double drives, while Side Two will be readable only on double-sided
drives. FLIPSIDE can be run as either a desk accessory or from the
desktop.
""""""""""
BAPACK.ARC
Programmer: Branch Always Software
BA PACK allows you to run programs that have been "packed" into a
smaller size. First you must pack the program you plan to use. Any
.PRG, .TOS, .TTP, or .ACC program file may be PACKed. The savings in
disk space can be especially useful to those without hard drives.
Even though your program is PACKed, it is still executable. The larger
the program, the more space will be saved. BA PACK requires 1 meg of
memory.
""""""""""""
TRASHCAN.ARC
Programmer: Dan Wilga
If you're a registered user of NeoDesk 2.05 (or later), you'll want this
file. The NeoDesk Recoverable Trashcan permits the retrieval of deleted
files (while using NeoDesk, of course).
For those who have early versions of 2.05, a patch program is included
in TRASHCAN which will let you use more than one "NeoDesk Accessory" at
a time.
* PD PUB
--------> MONOCHROME AND PD UPDATE
------------------------
by Mark Quinn
File name: IFFCNV.ARC
Program name: IFFCNV
Program type: Utility
Programmed by: Bruce Holloway
This was a joy to review. IFFCNV will "Convert" the following formats.
(This chart is in the docs, and does such a good job of explaining
things, I thought I'd include it here.)
Input format Output format
Neochrome (.NEO) Neochrome (.NEO)
DEGAS (.PI?) DEGAS (.PI?)
Tiny (.TN?) IFF (.IFF)
IFF (.???)
Spec512 (.SP?)
The programmer planned on adding two more input (.GIF, and .IMG) and
three more output (.GIF, .TNY, and .SP?) file types, but I have no
information on whether he plans to do so (or already has done so!), or
is dead set against the whole proposition. The program was last
copyrighted in '88.
The following "conversion parameters" are just a click away:
Dither (off, shade, and diamond), Palette (color, monochrome, Spectrum
512), Resolution (all three supported), Compression (average, dropout),
Convert (convert and display picture), Display (display picture in
resolution closest to original).
The program functioned flawlessly, allowing me to view an .SPC pic (of
all things) on my monochrome monitor. It took a few seconds to
"convert" the pic, but the results were worth the wait.
File name: LBDEFDEM.LZH
Program name: The Definitive Demo by The Lost Boys of London
Program type: Demo
Programmed by: The Lost Boys
You owe it to yourself to take a long look at this demo from The Lost
Boys, including a throbbing, digitized ST-Replay-4-sampled piece (this
section requires one meg or more), and more music than you can shake a
baton at (there are fifty selections from various ST games). My
favorite was the theme from "Warhawk".
(How many ways can you describe how good the graphics are in a demo?
They're good.)
"Quinn's Quickies"
AREACODE.LZH
Update. Find out where that "strange" area code is, in Canada or US.
CONCORD2.ARC
Bible concordance. Romans through Philemon are included. The King
James Version and the New International Version can be ordered from the
programmer(s).
GODSWORD.ARC
To be used with the public domain KJV Bible. Shareware.
* GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION
------------------------> ANIMATE 4
---------
Ctsy CompuServe Atari Forums
#: 17827 S2/Games 22-Jan-90 11:06:18
Sb: #17801-#ANIMA4.ARC
Fm: SYSOP*Bill Aycock 76703,4061
To: Terry May 75076,3576 (X)
Terry,
I don't have any .DL? delta animations - never seen one, as a matter of
fact - and I suppose a lot of folks are the same way. Luckily, patching
either ANIMATE3 or ANIMATE4 to default to SEQ instead of DL? is very
simple. All you need to do is:
1. Boot with the TinyTool accessory or load it into MultiDesk. (If you
don't already have it, it's TTOOL.ARC in LIB 6 of ATARIPRO.)
2. Go into TinyTool and click on FILE, then load whichever version of
ANIMATE you want.
3. When the little info line says "File offset (beginning=0)":
- for ANIMATE3, type in $4A03
- for ANIMATE4, type in $4A90
and hit return. In a second the file screen will show up, and the
first three bytes displayed will be DLT (for v3) or DL? (for v4).
4. Click on the 44 on the first line, then type in 83 and hit return.
5. Click on the 4C on the first line, then type in 69 and hit return.
6. Click on the 54 (for v3) or 3F (for v4) on the first line, then type
in 81 and hit return.
7. Now the first three characters shown on the upper right should be
SEQ. Click on the WRITE button at the bottom of TinyTool to write
your changes to the file.
8. Ta-daaa! Done!
--bill--
* THE CLUB ROOM
---------------> PUBLISHING A MULTI-USERS GROUP NEWSLETTER
-----------------------------------------
by Jim Chapman, PSAN Coordinator
(Reprinted from Z*Net, January 1990)
Ahhh, done at last and I can now look forward to a full night's sleep!
It's 5:30pm on December 1st and we've just finished mailing out nearly
700 copies of the December issue of the Puget Sound Atari News (PSAN).
I'm one day late with the mailing, but that's not too bad ('cause we
got'em out before the weekend and avoided a three day delay - I'll try
to do better next month!). Now all I have left to do is deliver three
or four newsletter packets to nearby stores and users groups, complete
and send out the Z*NET distribution form, and make archival copies of
this month's articles/graphics/DTP files from the hard drive onto
floppy disk. Thus, my 50 to 100 hours of monthly newsletter work are
nearly finished... And I can start preparing for the next month's issue
while I catch up on my other club duties and family responsibilities
(in a more leisurely manner, of course).....
But wait, maybe I'd better first explain what PSAN is, and how I came to
be so deeply involved in it's production....
The Puget Sound Atari News is a 48 page, monthly, glossy-covered,
magazine style newsletter cooperatively produced by thirteen (the
present number) Atari computer users groups located in Washington State,
British Columbia, Nevada and California.
PSAN began in the Fall of 1984 as the combined newsletter of three
Seattle area users groups. The first issues were simply three separate
newsletters stapled together and bulk-mailed. (This provided three
times as much newsletter at less cost than a previous single issue!) My
role then was to help with the labelling and do the mailing (a piece of
cake).
A year and a half later I stepped forward to become the 'unofficial'
PSAN coordinator (publisher) in an effort to keep the then-failing
newsletter alive. Now I was printing portions of the newsletter, doing
paste-ups/final editing, scurrying back and forth to the local MinuteMan
Press, and more (while retaining all previous duties, of course).
In early 1987 I offered to print the other club's newsletter sections in
an effort to standardize page quality and formatting - And soon I found
myself editing all PSAN article input! Shortly thereafter it seemed
logical to adopt a true magazine format (we'd previously added a table
of contents while retaining multiple newsletters under a common cover).
Next, a glossy cover was added (to everyone's approval); and finally in
February 1988, I took the desk-top publishing plunge. Suddenly, my
news letter workload seemed to double! So, when 1989 finally rolled
around, I thought I might just as well volunteer to become the
'official' PSAN honcho - everyone was looking to me to make the
necessary decisions anyway!
With the June 1989 issue we switched to a new printer (offering lower
prices and better bindery) and added Z*NET (which, I might add, very
nicely rounded out the content of our publication). This brings us up
to the present.
The Monthly Schedule
In order to work up our regular 36 pages of newsletter content we need a
certain amount of organization....
Input deadlines (for both articles and ads) are usually set around the
middle of the month preceding publication. Now I'd be less than honest
if I said that everyone always submitted their input according to this
schedule! But, some lateness can usually be tolerated as I can't
possibly edit and layout all articles at one sitting. As a matter of
fact, as we usually have forty or more articles (including Club News
submissions) plus front and back covers per month, I'm darned happy if
I can finish the desk-top publishing layout within one week! The most
difficult part of this process is finishing up the final few pages. I
often find myself with, say, 1 1/2 open pages, and have time-sensitive
articles (which must be included in this issue) that require 2 1/4
pages! Sometimes it takes more than one day to juggle everything so
that it will fit neatly or in a logical sequence! This final layout is
made more difficult because time is becoming very critical now - I've
got to get the completed newsletter laser printed and to the print shop
on the scheduled day/time!
Layout completed, I hurry to my friendly Atari computer store (Butler's
Computer's - a 30 minute drive) to do the actual laser printing. (No, I
don't have my own personal laser printer! But one day.... ) If all
equipment is functioning properly and my DTP layout is near-perfect (a
rare occurrence!), my work here will be be completed in less than two
hours. More often than not, however, things go awry and I'm lucky to
finish in time to get the completed pages to the print shop somewhere
around closing time. (But, what would life be without it's little
challenges!)
Our printer, a small 'mom and pop' printing/copy business, officially
requires a full week to print, collate, bind and trim the 800 copies of
our newsletter. Now, this is a good turn-around time (at least compared
to other print shops we've dealt with). And... every now and then, when
their other business is a little slow and they have no equipment/paper/
ink problems, they can finish-up our job in as little as three days by
working overtime! On more than one occasion this has helped us meet a
deadline that would have otherwise been missed!
The final production step is the mailing. This is usually accomplished
in a single day - It only requires about 8-10 man-hours! On my way to
get the completed newsletters (about 25 miles from home), I pick up the
completed mailing labels from Cindy, our database person. At the
printer's I pack the four over-stuffed boxes (about 200 pounds total) of
newsletters into my car. Then, it's off to Bruce's house to label and
sack the nearly 600 bulk mailed newsletters and to package-up the other
120+ which must be mailed individually. We work fast because I still
have to get everything to the Post Office before the 6pm closing time.
Failing to meet this schedule will cause our delivery date(s) to slip a
full day (or three days if it's a Friday)!
Phew! Aside from a few administrative tasks, I've finished with this
month's PSAN. Now, while mulling over tentative ideas for the next
issue, I can sit back and admire the fruits of our collective labor...
and feel good about being an Atari enthusiast!
How PSAN succeeds
PSAN is organized/controlled by a Letter Of Agreement. Participation is
open to any non-profit computer club whose purposes includes education
and improving computer literacy. All participating clubs are equal
owners of the newsletter and share the expenses at an equal rate based
on the quantity of newsletters received/mailed each month. Controls are
also in place to insure that critical or sensitive matters (such as
publication name, budget (cost) limits, fiscal agent, spokesman,
restrictions, etc.) are decided only by unanimous agreement of the
participating clubs.
Rules and regulations, however, are not enough. More important is the
attitude and actions of the principals involved. We have strived to be
an association of friends with common interests in Atari computers. Our
focus is on helping each other and promoting our mutual interests in
computers. This caring, sharing, and cooperative approach has created a
trusting atmosphere that allows us to function rather efficiently with
minimal conflict. (In fact, I can't recall ever having any serious
disagreements with any of the current PSAN groups!)
PSAN also has a core of dedicated and hard-working contributors whose
unselfish and supportive efforts month after month make the newsletter
possible. (Obviously, we can never have too much of this!)
WEAKNESSES? You bet! Costs are higher than we'd like. We never seem
to have enough on-time article input. Newsletter print quality is a
never-ending struggle. The whole operation is excessively dependent on
one person. And more.....
Obviously there are good arguments as to how our efforts might be better
directed elsewhere or reasons why we shouldn't work so hard. But, in my
mind, this newsletter is part of our mutual 'life force'; take it away
and we lose something - and become collectively weaker. For my part, I
plan to continue the effort - it's great having the opportunity to be
productive, a little creative, and receive an occasional 'atta boy'!
* THE JOY OF SERIAL CABLES
--------------------------> Download from GEnie
-------------------
by Bill Graf
When I first started playing around with projects that had to connect
into the joystick ports of my first ATARI computer, an XE 130, I
discovered how neat Radio Shack Joystick Extension Cables were they come
about 10 feet long and have D9 connectors made on to the ends [one male
and one female]. You just chop off the proper end, with enough cable
for for your project, strip back the outer covering and connect up the
9 wires however you wish.
Now joystick ports don't use all the pins but these cables have all 9
wires. So when I decided to make two serial cables for the portfolio I
naturally used extension cables Part # 270-1705, one reason is that they
provide a nice neat connection in proportion to the size of the PF
serial adapter. My only problem seems to be I always have plenty of
male ends left over. No big deal since the cost is only $5.49 for the
whole cable. The other parts needed are D25 female ends and covers Part
#'s 276-1548 & 276-1549 respectively. I always use the solder type,
however a crimp type D25 connectors are available. Only use about 3 to
3-1/2 feet of cable to limit resistance and prevent interference [the
cables are unsheilded but I have had no problems with them].
The wire colors are generally as follows, however, since nothing is
certain in this world, you should always check the pin to pin
continuity.
PIN 1 = BROWN PIN 2 = RED
PIN 3 = ORANGE PIN 4 = YELLOW
PIN 5 = GREEN PIN 6 = BLUE
PIN 7 = GREY PIN 8 = WHITE
PIN 9 = BLACK
NOW TO MAKE A SERIAL CABLE FOR A PRINTER OR A MODEM CONNECT THE D25 as
follows:
MALE D9 COLOR WIRE IN CABLE connect to FEMALE D25 PINS*
PIN 1 = BROWN ---------------------------->PIN 8 ALL
PIN 2 = RED ------------------------------>PIN 3
PIN 3 = ORANGE --------------------------->PIN 2 OTHER
PIN 4 = YELLOW --------------------------->PIN 20
PIN 5 = GREEN ---------------------------->PIN 7 PINS
PIN 6 = BLUE ----------------------------->PIN 6
PIN 7 = GREY ----------------------------->PIN 4 LEFT
PIN 8 = WHITE ---------------------------->PIN 5
PIN 9 = BLACK ---------------------------->PIN 22 EMPTY
* Some applications will need a gender changer or a male D25 could be
substituted.
NOW TO MAKE A NULL MODEM CABLE TO CONNECT THE PORTFOLIO SERIAL PORT WITH
AN ST, MEGA, OR AN IBM or COMPATIBLE PC or XT CONNECT THE D25 AS FOLLOWS
MALE D9 COLOR WIRE IN CABLE connect to FEMALE D25 PINS
PIN 1 = BROWN (NOT CONNECTED AT ALL)
PIN 2 = RED ------------------------------>PIN 2
PIN 3 = ORANGE --------------------------->PIN 3
PIN 5 = GREEN ---------------------------->PIN 7
PIN 4 = YELLOW -------------) PIN 4----)
& connect together| | jumper wire
PIN 6 = BLUE ---------------) PIN 5----) connect 2
pins
PIN 7 = GREY ---------------) PIN 6----)
& connect together| | jumper wire
PIN 8 = WHITE --------------) PIN 8----) connect 3
| pins
PIN 20---)
PIN 9 = BLACK (NO CONNECTION AT ALL)
That's it, put the hoods on the D25's and you're in business, BUT, check
the connections with an ohm meter or battery and bulb circuit tester
before to try it, No guarantees if you blow up your gear, but it works
for me! ..........Bill Graf
GEnie E mail ABGRAF
* LINE NOISE
------------> MESSAGES FROM THE ZNET BBS AND EMAIL
------------------------------------
Jan 14, 1990
This letter is to inform you that the BBS named L'Echange carries your
magazine. It is available to all the members of the BBS (350 users) for
Download every week.
L'Echange is a french BBS, located in Montreal Quebec, Canada. It is
operated on a 1040ST since October 1986. The telephone number is (514)
522-2301
I would like to use this moment to encourage you to continue your great
work.
Thank You, Eric Tremblay 73117,460
*``*``*``*``*``*
(EDITED TEXT)
First, I want to thank you for the excellent job you've been doing with
the Z_Mags, and now Z-Net. Your publication proudly occupies a space on
my BBS. They are an invaluable source of information for my club
newsletter. If I can convince the members, I hope to sign up for Z-Net
sometime soon.
I called your board to register mine on the Z-Net BBS list. I've been
carrying the mag since the board went up, last July. I've collected
back issues of both Z-Mags and maintain a library for my users. I
currently read Z-Net through my membership in MVACE. Like I mentioned,
my club, ACEC (Atari Computer Enthusiasts of Columbus (OH)) doesn't
carry it yet.
My board is: The Mind^s Eye BBS 614-231-3716
========================================================================
Z*Net Online is a weekly online magazine covering the entire Atari
community. Opinions and commentary are those of the individual authors
and do not reflect those of Rovac Industries. ZNET and ZNET ONLINE are
copyright 1989, 1990 by Rovac Industries. Reprint permission is granted
as long as ZNET ONLINE and the original author are included. Reprinted
articles are not be edited without permission.
========================================================================
NEWS WITHOUT THE VIEWS
=======================================================================
ZNET ONLINE Atari News and Reviews FIRST!
Copyright (c)1990 Rovac Industries, Inc..
=======================================================================
