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Z*NET Online Magazine Issue 91-45
| (((((((( | Z*Net International Atari Online Magazine
| (( | -----------------------------------------
| (( | October 25, 1991 Issue #91-45
| (( | -----------------------------------------
| (((((((( | Copyright (c)1991, Rovac Industries, Inc.
| | Post Office Box 59, Middlesex, NJ 08846
| (( |
| (((((( | CONTENTS
| (( |
| | * The Editors Desk............................Ron Kovacs
| ((( (( | * Eyewitness Comdex Report.....................John Nagy
| (((( (( | * Z*Net Comdex Newswire.................................
| (( (( (( | * Z*Net Newswire........................................
| (( (((( | * FCC Update............................................
| (( ((( | * 9600 Baud With Interlink..............................
| | * Perusing The Internet...................Bruce Hansford
| ((((((( | * Z*Net Software Shelf....................Ron Berinstein
| (( |
| ((((( |
| (( |
| ((((((( | ~ Publisher/Editor............................Ron Kovacs
| | ~ Editor.......................................John Nagy
| (((((((( | ~ New Zealand Bureau..........................Jon Clarke
| (( | ~ Canadian Bureau........................Terry Schreiber
| (( | ~ PD Software Reviewer....................Ron Berinstein
| (( | ~ Reporter................................Dr. Paul Keith
| (( | ~ Contributor.............................Bruce Hansford
"Reporting For Atari Users, Not About Them"
=======================================================================
* THE EDITORS DESK by Ron Kovacs
=======================================================================
Yes... this is issue #91-45. Issue #91-44 was a Z*Break special news
bulletin released last Sunday. The announcement has been reproduced in
this edition if you missed it.
We are searching for a publishing assistant. If you are interested in
joining the Z*Net staff, please leave email to any of the addresses
listed at the end of this issue!
Remember to turn your clocks back one hour Saturday evening!
=======================================================================
* COMDEX EYEWITNESS REPORT by John Nagy
=======================================================================
Atari's COMDEX appearance was high in quality but low in zip.
Impressive displays of niche solutions drew respectful interest, but new
product announcements were limited to a reprise of the ST BOOK plus a
new line of PC compatible desktop machines and a sexy 386 notebook.
Every fall, the COMDEX show provides dealers, distributors, and the
press an opportunity to be dazzled by the new offerings of computer
products makers from all over the world. This year, the Interface
Group's Las Vegas COMDEX show was early, held in October instead of the
traditional November date. The result, combined with the general
recession, was a slower show than normal. Both the crowds and the
displays were less dramatic than many years. In fact, many visitors
called the most boring fall COMDEX in years. Bright spots included the
Macintosh area from Apple... and Atari.
Atari's booth was perhaps a bit larger than last year, located in the
same spot in the Sands Convention Center. This is the second year for
this facility, a bit off the still beaten path to the main hall where
the "high rollers" dominate. Last year, the Sands complex was missed by
a lot of show goers, but this year the promotion of the Sands center
seemed to be taking hold. Traffic grew considerably through the week,
after most visitors flooded the main hall on opening day. The Sands
didn't have just little guys though; Konica, Chinon, MITA, Cannon,
Motorola, Hercules, Honeywell, Corel, Hyndai, Pioneer, etc. are here.
A sense of scale is required in order to appreciate COMDEX. About 23
MILLION square feet. Over 20 miles of isles. About half the total
footage is in the Sands Center. And Atari had the LARGEST booth in the
Sands. Only PICK, a PC supply distributor, had more square feet, but
much of their space was an open area where they collected show goers for
a shameless display of cleavage and thigh as a dozen lace-clad girls
delivered their promotional messages. As you might guess, it was busy
there.
At Atari's booth, the mood was more businessey. And the crowds were
proportionately smaller. But what they saw was a collection of
applications and solutions in MIDI and Publishing that established Atari
as a player of merit in the computer biz. And that was the whole point.
COMDEX is where dealers and distributors come to select their product
line offerings for the coming year, and Atari entertained many of them
in their private meeting rooms. They were offered the ST BOOK (hot!),
the regular ST/TT lineup, Portfolio, and a new line of PC compatible
computers, plus a number of dealer bundles of hardware and software.
THE DISPLAY
About 15 of the now familiar two-sided marble work/display tables
surrounded the grey central triangular two-story booth. Two meeting
rooms were in the booth, plus another large observation/meeting area
atop the booth. From this vantage place, the entire Sands floor could
be taken in. Not to miss a chance for promotion, Atari offered its
locale to ABC NEWS on Sunday before opening in order to film an extended
interview with Sheldon Edelman, owner of the Sands and the Interface
Group itself. In exchange for the courtesy, ABC promised to include
significant footage of the Atari booth in their COMDEX reports. Look
for the interview to appear this Sunday Morning, October 27, on the ABC
Business Week Report, usually around 9 AM pending special and sports
programming. You should see Atari and the Sands the way COMDEX visitors
did.
The gateway to the Atari area featured Bob Brodie as host to the ST
BOOK. While I'd have liked to see more fanfare for the ST Book, with
spotlights and amplified sound, the low key and personal approach let
lots of people find out more about the impressive notebook ST. I just
wonder how many walked right by.
Those who did see the ST Book were uniformly pleased. I even got used
to the "vector pad" mouse device that is built into the ST Book (John
King Tarpinian calls it the "velcro mouse") while spelling Bob for his
lunch. It's easy to try to hard and make it unpleasant to use... but if
you simply put your finger in the depression and move it as though it
were on the very tip of a joystick lever, it works very smoothly and
predictably. I had the pleasure of showing the ST Book to members of
the bands Pink Floyd, the Pointer Sisters, and the Moody Blues.
Although a single ST Book was displayed, I was told that at least 100
motherboards have been completed and shipped by Toshiba. The case is
being slightly retooled, so Atari has refrained from building too many
hand-made units before real production can start. But it should be
soon.
There was no STylus in sight on the COMDEX floor. This was a real
surprise after the way Atari reps boasted about how "this is going to be
the COMDEX of the Pad Computer", and how Atari's STylus was going to
beat the bunch to the punch with the huge existing software base of the
ST. Comments from Bob Brodie were to the effect that the prototypes
were in "bad shape" after several shows overseas, and were not
presentable enough for display here. Hmmm.
At each of the display tables, a complete Atari computer was set up and
running. Most were manned by third party developers who rotated their
showings throughout the show dates. The professional level products are
the keystone of the "Professional Systems Group" that Atari is using to
break new ground in the publishing industry. Present on Monday were:
Gribnif: Rich Flashman showed their new DTP entries, Arabesque and
Convector. A bit-image and line art editor/drawing application and a
line-art/bit image conversion system, respectively, they make a powerful
pair.
ISD: Calamus SL was clearly the big push at ISD, with Nathan Potechin
and staff showing color separations and manipulations into a linotype
press unit right on the floor.
Softlogik: PageStream 2.1 shown as a "postscript solution" in DTP.
Atari's press releases are all being done in PageStream.
CodeHead: John Eidsvoog performed dazzling artwork using Avant-Vector
and Repro Studio, high-end bit-to-vector conversion and drawing
applications.
Goldleaf: Lauren Sellers had her staff busy showing the 3K line
including Didot, Retouche CD, and more at multiple stacked-up displays
that included color printers and more.
Roland: The musical instrument and synthesizer company offered several
stations demonstrating how the Atari does MIDI with ease and
professionalism. Atari's John Morales did compositions on the fly, and
commented that we might hear one of them in a movie soundtrack someday.
John is a Northeast US Rep for Atari, but his musical credits include
collaboration in the well known Beverly Hills Cop theme, "Axel F".
Thinkware products were also featured.
Hotz: Jimmy Hotz had a booth showing his Hotz Box software, which he
now sells independent of his Box. The software allows considerable
automation in MIDI keyboard accompaniment to pre-programmed sequences.
Hybrid Arts: At one corner of the Atari booth, the Digital Master unit
belted out CD quality edits of radio station jingles, music from YES,
and commercial sound tracks. The professional but affordable direct-to-
disk digital recording and editing system will become a standard for
small studios and radio-TV production houses... controlled by Atari.
JMG: The Hyperlink folks from Canada showed the Atari answer to Mac's
Hypercard.
Lexicor: Lee Seiler did demos of his line of key-frame animation and
drawing systems.
Soft-Aware: The graphics-integrated relational database system, shown by
the California-based company.
IBP: A dedicated Portfolio application with hardware to monitor and
control environmental systems. Another booth held Atari's Portfolio
demos, with a Port hooked to a battery operated Cannon Bubblejet printer
for ultimate mini-power. A wall-mounted display featured a Portfolio
automating control of a light and a miniature train, with text prompting
the observer as to what was happening. The same technology is being
used to run complete factory assembly lines from an easy-to-use
Portfolio.
Touch Technologies: A complete point of sale setup, with cash drawer and
receipt printing, all driven by a colorful touch-screen interface on a
Mega STe.
A booth was dedicated to showing PC emulation, using a Supercharger.
Several booths were on auto-pilot, with demo programs pumping color and
sound to the passers-by. Other developers were expected in and our
through the week, including Rombo of Scotland who brought us VIDI-ST.
Bob expected to see a new product from them, so I was disappointed to
miss them on Monday.
Atari had one booth dedicated to FSM GDOS, the font-scaling technology
that may become the standard for Atari products. Carl Bacani showed it
at the booth that also included the CD ROM player built for Atari by
Chinon, the CDAR505. Chinon's booth was also on the Sands' floor not
far away, and the identical unit, the CDA431 (without the Fuji) was
offered there as well.
Atari's new ABC line of PC compatibles is a totally new design, nothing
like those shown at some prior COMDEX shows and never marketed in the
USA. This time they are ready and FCC Type B, although they are about
as ugly a unit as these eyes have seen. The big one, a 40 mHz 386DX,
looks like the designer couldn't decide if he wanted a vertical or
horizonal look, so one disk drive goes each way. Really. But to be
fair, some other observers found it "interesting". At least the power
switch is dead center on the front, a real change from the hidden rear
location on the ST/TT line that virtually requires switchable power
center. Windows comes with it. The Notebook PC was not shown much at
the booth, as they had a single demo unit and it did most of its time at
the Atari suite in the hotel, where the really big deals were being
spun. I suspect that a second ST BOOK and maybe a STylus were also in
the suite. I did get a brief look at the 386 notebook, and it looked
quite good, compact, and fast. The prices on the entire PC line are
competitive, offering Atari dealers a way to sell branded PC's to their
customers without having to stray from the Atari brand line. Although
Atari did not design or build the PC's, they have an exclusive look that
will make them identifiable as more than just another random clone.
Dealers seemed pleased at the value and features, and even more pleased
to find that they can get their PC's from the same supplier as their
Atari's.
On one side of the Atari booth was a mini-theater, a place to do
demonstrations to a group. At least 15 chairs were set up by a stage
where a 40" or so color monitor loomed over a TT and Mega STe setup.
Here, Atari developers took turns explaining their software to the
usually appreciative audience. However, the stage was empty most of the
time, without so much as a videotape keeping the troops entertained. I
am told that this was remedied later in the week with fairly continuous
demos. But the stage was bleak and barren, without visuals on the
sweeping grey blank background. Worse, the demonstrations were not
exactly slick and professional, the norm at COMDEX. But this was a
first try in the theater department for Atari. Maybe next year they'll
get it really right.
Bundles? Yup. The exact bundles as sold in Europe are now finally
offered to the US dealers. After years of debate as to what the USA
needed for bundled startup systems, the US finally will join the rest of
the world with the "Discovery XTRA", a 520 STe with games (Indiana
Jones, Anarchy, Dragon's Breath, others), and the "Family Curriculum"
pack with lots of educational modules and productivity applications for
all ages. Each bundle features a colourful point-of-sale sleeve that
promotes the entire package in the style that made K-Mart famous. Note
the UK spelling of "colourful". And get used to it.
Other bundles were quietly offered to dealers and distributors, with
very attractive combinations of hardware at great pricing. These
"bundles" will not typically be seen by end users, as they are bundled
to the dealer for his volume purchase purposes, not necessarily for
resale as a bundle.
UNIX? Yup again. Atari is now actually "selling" their "ASV" system, a
developers kit "in alpha test form". As often mentioned before, it is
for the TT and features Unix System V release 4.0, X Windows, OSF/MOTIF,
XFACEMAKER 2, GNU C and C++. It requires 8 mbyte of RAM and 213 mbyte
hard drive.
Announced informally to anyone who asked was the "Multitasking TOS".
Projected for a March '92 release, Bill Rehbock of Atari's development
team said it will be a "fully preemptive, time slicing, with selectable
configuration".
Walking around the COMDEX floor, you soon get used to the idea that the
PC and the MAC are the ONLY two platforms that the world considers to be
general use machines. Every single booth has computers for
demonstration of the company products, and 2 out of 3 are PC's, and the
other is a MAC. It quickly becomes obvious why Atari is beating the
niche drum on MIDI and DTP. Only for niche applications will the public
consider anything but their "big two". No Amiga, either, folks,
although I am told that the Amiga booth (in Bally's Hotel, not even in a
main hall) was totally busy and very well done. The product for the
Amiga is "multimedia", period. And it does it well. But not alone.
Pioneer has a wall of 16 video screens, making a huge TV display in
mosaic. Nearby in the Pioneer display is a "Mars Navigator" interactive
dual CD-controlled ultra-realistic display. Using a Mac.
Atari made a "good" impression here at COMDEX. A "great" one was hoped
for, but not quite made. I felt that the software took too much of a
spotlight, while the Atari brand hardware was too subtly in the
background. COMDEX is where Atari needed to impress people with ATARI,
and it's my feeling that the third-party software ended up hogging the
stage. Of course, convincing dealers and distributors that dramatic and
varied software EXISTS for the Atari is crucial -- but the power of the
hardware and the company did not shine as brightly as I would have
hoped. The proof will be in the deals. I hope to have a report on THAT
next week.
ALSO NEXT WEEK: The Atari Developer Dinner... and announcements from Sam
Tramiel: Fish, Foul, and Felines: the future of Atari.
Z*BREAK 91-44
(ZNS - 10/19/91) Atari Canada announces that it will ship, in October,
UNIX for the TT, to select, qualified UNIX developers. The product
consists of a kit, including various RAM upgrades to bring existing TT
computers to either 8 or 16MB. In addition a choice is available for
either a 212MB or 340MB SCSI hard drive. The 340MB drive may also be
supplied with an optional TOS partition. ASV or Atari System Five
provides a full implementation of UNIX 5.4, X/Windows, TCP/IP, NFS,
Ethernet support, NSL, Wish2, and a full suite of application
development tools.
ATARI ANNOUNCES THREE NEW MS-DOS COMPATABLE MACHINES
ATARI 386SX NOTEBOOK
System Architecture - Intel 80386SX operating at 20Mhz
------------------- (10MHz keyboard adjustable to conserve power)
Memory -------------- 1MB standard, expandable through an internal RAM
------ card slot to 2 or 5MB
Math Coprocessor ---- Optional Intel 80387SX
----------------
Display ------------- Large (640x480 dots), high contrast, paper white,
------- backlit LCD display with 16 gray levels,
continuous brightness and contrast controls, power
saving feature. External VGA-compatible
Mass Storage -------- 40MB Fixed Drive, 23ms average access time,
------------ designed for low power consumption, built in
controller, power-saving feature
Floppy Drive -------- One internal 3.5", 1.44MB microfloppy Support for
------------ optional, external 5," Floppy diskette drive
Keyboard ------------ 85/86 sculptured keys
--------
I/O Ports ----------- One Parallel/Disk - 15 pin, D type female
--------- connector, standard 8-bit parallel or external
diskette drive support, selectable through setup
program Serial RS-232C, programmable, asynchronous
9 pin D-subminature male connector
Modem --------------- Internal slot for optional modem
-----
Mouse --------------- 6 pin, mini-DIN connector for optional mouse
-----
Operating Software -- MS DOSr v5.0 MS Windows v 3.0
------------------
Accessories --------- Mouse optional
-----------
Power Supply -------- 12 Volt AC adaptor, recharges battery while
------------ operating computer, automatic 110/220 sensing.
Battery ------------- Interchangeable, rechargeable, internal NICad
------- battery pack, lasts approximately 1.5 hours
Dimensions ---------- 1.72"(h) x 8.5"(w) x 11.8"(d) 5.7 lbs
----------
ATARI 386DX-40
System Architecture - AMDr Advanced Micro Devices AM386 operating at 40
------------------- MHz, 32bit internal data bus, 16 bit external data
bus, 32 bit address bus.
Memory -------------- 2MB standard, expandable to 64MB of RAM on the
------ motherboard 64KB RAM Cache, expandable to 256KB
Math Coprocessor ---- Optional Intel 80387 or Weitek 3167 floating
---------------- point coprocessor
BIOS ---------------- AMI BIOS
----
Expansion BUS ------- Eight 16 bit slots One 32 bit RAM slot
-------------
Video Subsystem ----- Super VGA
---------------
Mass Storage -------- 80MB Fixed Drive, 19ms average access time
------------
Floppy Drive -------- One 3.5", 1.44MB microfloppy
------------
Bays ---------------- One 3.5" bay for microfloppy Three 5, half height
---- bays
Keyboard ------------ 101/102 enhanced AT style
--------
I/O Ports ----------- One Parallel Two Serial One Game/Joystick
---------
Operating System ---- MS DOS v5.0 MS Windows v 3.0
----------------
Accessories --------- Mouse included
-----------
Power Supply -------- 220 watts, 110 VAC
------------
Dimensions ---------- 16+"(w) x 16+"(d) x 6+"(h) 24 lbs
----------
ATARI 386SX-20
System Architecture - Intel 80386SX operating at 20 MHz, 32bit internal
------------------- data bus, 16 bit external data bus, 32 bit address
bus.
Memory -------------- 1MB standard, expandable to 8MB of RAM on the
------ motherboard
Math Coprocessor ---- Optional Intelr 80398SX floating point coprocessor
----------------
BIOS ---------------- Phoenix BIOS
----
Expansion BUS ------- Two 8 bit slots Four 16 bit slots
-------------
Video Subsystem ----- Super VGA
---------------
Mass Storage -------- 40MB Fixed Drive, 19ms average access time
------------
Floppy Drive -------- One 3.5", 1.44MB microfloppy
------------
Bays ---------------- One 3.5" (used for microfloppy drive) Three 5,
---- half height bays
Keyboard ------------ 101/102 enhanced AT style
--------
I/O Ports ----------- One Parallel Two Serial One Game/Joystick
---------
O.S. Software ------- MS DOS v5.0 MS Windows v 3.0
-------------
Accessories --------- Mouse included
-----------
Power Supply -------- 220 watts, 110 VAC
------------
Dimensions ---------- 16+"(w) x 16+"(d) x 6+"(h) 24 lbs
=======================================================================
* Z*NET COMDEX NEWSWIRE - Special Comdex Issue -
=======================================================================
APPLE INTRODUCES SYSTEM SOFTWARE 7.0.1
Apple made important announcements at Comdex. Macintosh System Software
7.0.1 is a hardware support release for Apple's new Macintosh PowerBook
100, 140, and 170, the Macintosh Quadra 700 and 900, and the Macintosh
Classic II personal computers. This new release contains only software
changes from System 7.0 necessary to support the new Macintosh CPUs and
is not a recommended upgrade for the current installed base of Macintosh
users. System 7.0.1 is available immediately in the United States.
VENTURA SOFTWARE AT COMDEX
Ventura announced a 57 percent price reduction to Ventura DataBase
Publisher. This product is one of ten Ventura Software products
targeted to meet the advanced document publishing needs of publishers of
catalogs, books, government reports and technical materials. Ventura
is offering a new bundled price for these three color extensions.
Ventura Scan, Ventura Separator and Ventura ColorPro can be purchased
together for a limited time for $999 when ordered directly from Ventura
at (800) 822-8221. When purchased separately, these products retail for
$295, $495 and $995 respectively. These products, which will also be
available through distribution, will be shipped in the fourth quarter
of 1991.
C-CUBE AT COMDEX
C-Cube announced five new third-party digital video products for IBM PC
and compatible computers and Sun SPARCstations, and a digital still-
image product for the Intergraph workstation, that are based on the C-
Cube CL550. C-Cube's processor is the first, and fastest, single-chip
image compression processor that implements the Joint Photographic
Experts Group international standard. C-Cube CL550-based digital image
and video products are available for all major computing platforms,
including IBM PC, Apple Macintosh, Sun SPARCstations, and Intergraph
workstations.
MICROSOFT WINDOWS NT
Acer was demonstrating an Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) prototype system
running Microsoft Windows NT. Acer supports all components of ACE. For
hardware platforms, this includes the MIPS R4000 reduced instruction set
computing (RISC) processor specified in ARC and Intel x86-based standard
computers. ACE operating environments supported are a unified UNIX
system, SCO Open Desktop, from the Santa Cruz Operation and Windows NT
from Microsoft.
SPECTRUM INFORMATION AT COMDEX
Spectrum Information was showing its AXSYS smart cellular interface.
The interface allows a laptop computer to be easily plugged into a
cellular telephone for reliable data transmission. Spectrum's products
were showing in conjunction with the NEC cellular workstation, the
Momenta 'penbased computer' and with Toshiba.
DENSEN TECHNOLOGY AT COMDEX
Densen was exhibiting its new DSF-3000 FAX. The DSF-3000 has a
horizontal density of 8 dots/mm and a vertical density that ranges from
3.65 to 15.4 lines/mm, printing on thermal paper. The CCITT G3
compatible FAX supports A4-size documents, has auto feed and auto cut,
displays 16 characters in an LCD window, and generates journal and error
reports.
LEXMARK AT COMDEX
Lexmark showed its new IBM LaserPrinter 4029 Series and its 600 x 600
dots-per-inch resolution capability. There are four models in the 4029
Series, ranging in print speeds of five pages-per-minute to 10 ppm, and
prices from $1,595 to $2,995. The 10L model is specially designed to
work in a local area network computer environment.
NVIEW AT COMDEX
nVIEW unveiled nSight, a monochrome LCD data projector for the
education, training and computer presentation markets that require high
quality LCD projection of computer images at a low cost. Since the
light source is designed into the unit, no overhead projector is
required to project data and images from the computer. nSight connects
to a wide range of computers including those made by Apple, IBM and
compatibles.
MICROCOM AT COMDEX
Microcom announced the release of Carbon Copy for Windows, offering
complete remote-control functionality for the Microsoft Windows
operating environment. Carbon Copy for Windows offers remote control,
file transfer and chat functions between two asynchronously-connected
PCs running Windows.
IBM AT COMDEX
IBM announced three additions to the disk drive line it sells to
original equipment manufacturers: an entry-level 40 megabyte model and
high-capacity 100MB and 200MB models of its slim 3.5-inch drive. The
new disk drives, along with IBM's one-gigabyte 3.5-inch drive, 2.5-inch
drives, rewriteable optical disk drive and new disk arrays, are being
displayed at the Comdex show this week. All three disk drives are
available for evaluation now and will be available in production
quantities by the end of the year. Customers interested in the new
drives can call IBM at 507-253-5005.
GRID AT COMDEX
GRiD unveiled GRiDPADRF, the first pen computer with integrated wireless
communications capability. The system is fully compatible with Novell
networks. The GRiDPADRF allows companies to completely automate the
data collection process, eliminating costly data updates and delays with
a real-time data collection system that eliminates the need for
temporary storage devices. The system has a rated range of 500 to 1,000
feet, depending on the environment.
SONY AND EXABYTE AT COMDEX
Sony and Exabyte jointly announced a newly enhanced data-grade 8mm tape
cartridge. The new 8mm cartridge, which incorporates several
technological improvements, is manufactured by Sony with the 'D8' logo,
specifically for use with Exabyte's 8mm computer data storage products.
The new media is sold in three sizes: 112m, 54m and 15m. Sony sells
the new media under Sony's 'QG' brand name. Exabyte sells it under the
name EXATAPE.
DELL AT COMDEX
Dell Computer expanded its line of notebook computers with the
introduction of the NX20. At a price of $2,199, the NX20 is a full-
featured notebook computer with all the functionality, reliability and
support required by price-conscious business and professional users.
ZENITH AT COMDEX
Zenith introduced a more powerful 'SL-based system, the MastersPort
386SLe notebook computer and will reduce the prices of its other i386-
based notebook PCs and introduce its fastest i486 SX-based desktop
personal workstation, the Z-486SX/25E. The seven-pound MastersPort
386SLe also includes a bright VGA display, standard keyboard with full-
size keys and 2 MB of system memory (expandable to 8 MB). Shipping will
begin in November for a suggested retail price of $4,999. Available
this month, the Z-486SX/25E comes standard with MS-DOS 5 and Microsoft
Windows 3.0 pre-installed on the hard disk drive.
NEW VECTOR DRAWING FOR WINDOWS
Computer Easy announced the release of dro, the first in a family of
software products for Windows. Based on a customizable tool box which
can be placed anywhere on the screen, its drawing and editing tools are
extensive, including orthogonal lines, rounded rectangles, arcs, pie
slices, and Bezier curves. With dro you can group objects, move them to
front or back, rotate them, align and flip horizontally and vertically,
and lock them in place. Complete with 25 PostScript fonts, and 500
items of clip art, dro will be available at a suggested retail price of
$149.00.
EPSON AT COMDEX
Epson introduced three notebook computers, including the first battery-
powered color notebook PC to use Seiko Epson's exclusive MIM (Metal
Insulator Metal) active-matrix technology and Intel's new power-saving
25MHz 386SL microprocessor. In a first, both monochrome versions will
be fully upgradable to the MIM active-matrix color screen. Seiko
Epson's MIM technology has resulted in high-contrast/high-resolution
LCDs virtually identical in quality to Thin Film Transistor active-
matrix LCDs. All three notebook computers offer enhanced, full-size,
full-travel keyboards; four-level password protection; a 3.5-inch,
1.44MB diskette drive; and a full 64KB of cache memory. Removable hard-
disk drives in three capacities (40,60 and 80MB) with optional internal
and external adapters enable users to plug the hard-disk info into most
ISA-compatible desktop PCs for true desktop/portable integration.
NOVELL AT COMDEX
Novell announced a new version of the NetWare Requester for OS/2,
providing users of IBM's OS/2 v2.0 with access to NetWare networking
services with complete support for OS/2 distributed applications and
interoperability with OS/2 v2.0 Extended Services. NetWare Requester
for OS/2 v2.0 simplifies access to NetWare services by providing icon
defined desktop utilities and an enhanced installation program, both
utilizing IBM's Presentation Manager environment. The new version of
the NetWare Requester has the capability to support over 1,000
simultaneous Named Pipes connections providing centralized access to
OS/2 distributed applications such as Lotus Notes and SQL Server.
NetWare Requester lists for $200 per corporate-wide license and will be
available concurrently with IBM's release of OS/2 v2.0.
MICROSOFT AT COMDEX
Microsoft announced Microsoft Word for Windows version 2.0, a major new
release of the word processor for the Windows operating system. This
version focuses on everyday word processing tasks and makes extensive
use of its state-of-the-art Usability Lab to improve the usability of
all key features, including the customizable Toolbar, Drag and Drop,
Envelope Generator, Print Merge Helper, and Help for WordPerfectR Users,
among many others. Word for Windows v. 2.0 will be available in
November 1991 for a suggested retail price of $495.
WINDOWS HONORED AT COMDEX
Microsoft announced this week that its Microsoft Windows 3.0
applications collected some of the most prestigious awards at this
year's Comde show, Oct. 21-24. Microsoft Excel for Windows 3.0 received
the Most Valuable Product (MVP) Award from PC Computing, and the Systems
Integration Magazine award for Product of the Year in the applications
software category, both in the spreadsheet category. In development
tools category, Microsoft Visual Basic 1.0 for Windows won the PC
Magazine Technical Excellence Award; it also won the PC Computing MVP
Award. Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0 received the BYTE Best of Fall
Comdex award in the category of application software.
HP WORKSTATIONS USE LOTUS 1-2-3
Hewlett-Packard announced the immediate availability of Lotus 1-2-3 on
the HP PA-RISC-based HP Apollo 9000 Series 700 workstations and HP 9000
Series 800 business servers. The PA-RISC-based Series 700 workstations
and Series 800 business systems and servers are based on the HP-UX
operating system. Lotus 1-2-3, which is available now for the Series
700 and Series 800, may be ordered through HP Apollo Direct, 1-800-225-
5290. The software is $695 per license and can support client-server
licensing schemes.
PHILIPS AT COMDEX
NV Philips Consumer Electronics unveiled the HeadStart 486SX and the
386SX-20. The 486 will sell for $2,499, while the 386 machine will cost
$2,499. Philips it also is developing a new pen based computer that
will be available in 1993.
=======================================================================
* Z*NET NEWSWIRE
=======================================================================
ATARI CANADA ANNOUNCES NEW AGRESSIVE PRICES/PACKAGING
MEGA 1 STE 68000 - 16MHz with 1 MB memory 1495.00
3.5" floppy, enhanced colour,
stereo sound and VME bus, complete
with 50MB hard drive kit
MEGA 2 STE 68000 - 16Mhz with 2 Mb memory, 1595.00
/50 3.5" floppy drive, enhanced colour
stereo sound, and VME Bus, complete
with 50MB hard drive kit
MEGA 2 STE 68000 - 16Mhz with 2 Mb memory, 1795.00
/80 3.5" floppy drive, enhanced colour
stereo sound, and VME Bus, complete
with 80MB hard drive kit
Prices posted are in Canadian dollars and are suggested retail. Dealers
may sell for less.
DETAILS ON THE NEW TOS!
Atari has developed version 3.06 of TOS for the TT dated September 24,
1991. It will not be available as an upgrade but will soon be installed
in all new TT machines in production. This new version fixes previous
bugs in TOS 3.01 and 3.05, and a few new features have been added. When
first 'booting up' with TOS 3.06 installed, the Atari logo is displayed
in the upper left-hand corner. Next it goes through a memory check
which is displayed in dashes ('-') and the user is informed of total RAM
in kilobytes. A black bar is then drawn across the screen and gets
smaller in width as the 2 minute delay timer counts down while the hard
drive(s) come up to speed. Finally the system continues as normal;
loads Auto boot PRG's, ACC's, and displays the desktop. TOS 3.06
supports the new floppy disk chip which Atari has developed in order to
read, write and format 1.44 meg floppy disk drives. A key combination
(CONTROL-ALT-something else) places you in the extended character set
mode as it does on DOS machines. Atari will also be creating a new
version of TOS, with the same features added, for the Mega STE. It, too,
will not be available for upgrade, and will only be available in new
machines. (Thanks to Jeffrey C. Davis, CEO, Magnum Software)
IBM SUES COMDISCO
IBM filed a lawsuit this week against Comdisco for alleged producing
of counterfeit parts for IBM mainframe computers and then selling or
leasing them to unsuspecting customers as genuine IBM-manufactured
parts. According to the suit, Comdisco has engaged in a deliberate
program of surreptitiously disassembling IBM-manufactured memory cards
and using these cannibalized parts to build counterfeit memory cards.
The affected computers are from the IBM 3090 family of computers. The
suit seeks a preliminary injunction and seeking monetary damages.
IBM SUES SEAGATE
IBM announced this week an additional suit has been filed against
Seagate Technology and a former IBM product development manager. The
suit alleges that Seagate, a computer disk drive maker, appointed Peter
I. Bonyhard, a former manager of IBM's magnetoresistive head design
program, to a key management position in Seagate's MR head development
effort. The suit, filed Oct. 11 alleges that Seagate and Bonyhard are
engaged in the unlawful misappropriation of IBM trade secrets. It also
alleges that Seagate is attempting to recruit other IBM employees as a
means of acquiring trade secrets. Seagate executives at the Comdex were
unavailable for comment.
PRODIGY UPDATES SYSTEM RULES
With the recent publisized complaints about anti-Semitic data on
Prodigy, the system has tightened its restrictions against posting of
"grossly repugnant" electronic hate messages on its bulletin boards.
The Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith announced concerns that the
online service had carried public messages it found offensive. The
group cited nearly a dozen messages, including one stating that "Hitler
had some valid points," and that "wherever Jews exercise influence and
power, misery, warfare and economic exploitation ... follow." That
message continued, "As a result -- pogroms, `persecutions' and the
mythical holocaust. They only get what they so very richly deserve."
At a press conference in New York on Thursday October 24, Prodigy Vice
President Henry Heilbrunn said, "We have now amplified these guidelines
to define as offensive notes that are grossly repugnant to community
standards. This would encompass notes that are blatant expressions of
bigotry, racism and hate." Heilbrunn also said the change had been in
the works and was not prompted by ADL's allegations. Heilbrunn noted
that private messages were strictly kept private and not reviewed by
company personnel, according to the law. He also said Prodigy will not
censor discussion of controversial subjects, such as one that has been
raging over the Prodigy network for several months: whether the
Holocaust was a hoax, a view historians dismiss. The latest controversy
at Prodigy centers on the firm's long-standing policy of reviewing
messages before they are posted publicly. Civil liberties groups have
compared computer information services to phone companies, which do not
censor calls. "However, Prodigy officials object to that analogy,
saying it is more like a newspaper; a spokesman said Prodigy must judge
what is acceptable and what is not, much as a newspaper editor must."
COMDISCO RESPONDS
Comdisco announced that the lawsuit filed by IBM regarding memory
modification practices is nothing more than a continuation of IBM's
strategy to litigate as opposed to seeking a business solution that's in
the best interest of all parties.
STAR TREK CREATOR DIES
Producer and writer Gene Roddenberry died of cardiac arrest at 2:46 pm
after arriving at Santa Monica Hospital at 2:26 pm after he collapsed at
his doctor's office. Roddenberry created "Star Trek: The Next
Generation," and the original Star Trek series which ran in the late
sixties. Roddenberry's death comes at a time when Paramount Studios has
started gearing up the publicity for the last movie in the series, due
to be released on Dec. 13 and called "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered
Country."
=======================================================================
* FCC UPDATE Courtesy GEnie
=======================================================================
The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") has adopted rules that
will increase by up to five-fold the price of local telephone lines that
use new network features to provide access to information services. The
new rules could have as serious an impact as the FCC's 1987 access
charge proposal, which was successfully defeated through a massive
letter-writing campaign.
Any information service provider that wishes to take advantage of new
network features -- which are to be made available as part of the FCC's
Open Network Architecture ("ONA") -- must start paying the higher
charges. Although the FCC would allow information service providers to
continue using their existing lines at current rates, providers choosing
this option would be denied the use of much existing and future network
functionality. Many state regulators are compounding this problem by
following the FCC's lead.
These pricing rules will needlessly inflate the costs of providing
information services. Information service providers will have no option
but to pass these added costs on to their subscribers in increased
prices. This is bad for the information service providers, bad for
subscribers, and bad for the United States. At a time when the FCC
should be encouraging the widest possible use and availability of
information services, the FCC has adopted rules that will have precisely
the opposite effect.
It's not too late to stop the FCC from implementing its new ONA pricing
rules. GEnie (through its trade associations ADAPSO and IIA),
CompuServe, Prodigy, BTNA (formerly Tymnet) and others have petitioned
the FCC to reconsider its rules, and the FCC is now considering whether
it should grant those petitions. You can help by writing to Al Sikes,
Chairman of the FCC, and sending copies of your letter to his fellow
Commissioners. You should also write to Congressman Ed Markey and
Senator Daniel Inouye, the Chairmen of the House and Senate
Subcommittees that have jurisdiction over the FCC. (You may also wish
to send copies of your letters to your own U.S. Senators and
Representative).
Tell them that:
- You use information services and how you use them.
- You will curtail your use of these services if prices increase as a
result of the FCC's new ONA pricing rules.
- The FCC's new ONA pricing rules will create the wrong incentives by
discouraging information service providers from taking advantage of
new network features.
- The FCC should reconsider the rules it adopted in Docket 89-79 and
allow information service providers to use new network features
without being required to pay usage-sensitive access charges that are
three to five times higher than existing rates.
Write to:
Honorable Alfred C. Sikes
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street, N.W., Room 814
Washington, D.C. 20554
Honorable Sherrie P. Marshall
Commissioner
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street, N.W., Room 826
Washington, D.C. 20554
Honorable Andrew C. Barrett
Commissioner
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street, N.W., Room 844
Washington, D.C. 20554
Honorable James H. Quello
Commissioner
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street, N.W., Room 802
Washington, D.C. 20554
Honorable Ervin S. Duggan
Commissioner
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street, N.W., Room 832
Washington, D.C. 20554
Honorable Edward J. Markey
Chairman, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance
U.S. House of Representatives
2133 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2107
Honorable Daniel K. Inouye
Chairman, Subcommittee on Communications
United States Senate
722 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1102
=======================================================================
* 9600 BAUD WITH INTERLINK
=======================================================================
For those of you who have purchased a 9600 baud modem the following may
be of help in setting up your modem to work with Interlink. The
following is a dump of the registers in the NVRAM. Set your registers
according to the example.
ACTIVE PROFILE:
B1 E1 L2 M1 N1 Q0 T V1 W2 X4 Y0 &C1 &D2 &G0 &J0 &K3 &Q5 &R0 &S0 &T4 &X0
&Y0 S00:000 S01:000 S02:043 S03:013 S04:010 S05:008 S06:002 S07:050
S08:002 S09:006 S10:014 S11:025 S12:050 S18:000 S25:075 S26:001 S36:007
S37:000 S38:020 S44:003 S46:138 S48:007 S49:008 S50:255
STORED PROFILE 0:
B1 E1 L2 M1 N1 Q0 T V1 W2 X4 Y0 &C1 &D2 &G0 &J0 &K3 &Q5 &R0 &S0 &T4 &X0
S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002 S09:006 S10:014 S11:025 S12:050
S18:000 S25:075 S26:001 S36:007 S37:000 S38:020 S44:003 S46:138 S48:007
S49:008 S50:255 S95:046
The above status registers will cause a auto connect (baud rate) and
negotiate a protocol in the following order: V.42bis V.42 MNP5 MNP4
The protocol negotiation will be displayed in the Interlink "Dialer
Status" window. With the current version of Interlink (1.85) it scrolls
by too fast to be read.
For the Initialize Modem String in Modem setup enter:
ATZ0[c/r]~~
Set your RS-232 to 19,200 baud and turn on RTS/CTS flow control in the
RS-232 window for each button.
If you have a TOS before .4 then you can't use RTS/CTS flow control and
you must expect to have loss of data and occasionally corrupted files if
you have a slow HD drive or are background downloading while connected
at 9600 baud.
At this time Interlink 1.85 has a feature that won't work with a 2400+
or 9600 baud modem when the RS-232 is set to anything faster than 2400
baud. Answer Mode will only connect at 2400, 1200 or 300 baud. We plan
to correct this in the next release as well as add a zmodem protocol.
Also, Interlink won't work on a TT in anything other than "LEGAL" ST
resolutions ie: ST Medium color and ST Mono High
The next version may be many months away as it will be compiled under a
new "C" compiler to take advantage of the features in the TT. This
compiler is expected to be available 10/91.
=======================================================================
* PERUSING THE INTERNET Compiled by Bruce Hansford
=======================================================================
Date: 30 Sep 91 04:04:15 GMT
>From: boyd@arizona.edu (Mickey Boyd)
Subject: Mega II Expansion
Dan Fox writes:
>I have a 'stock' Mega 2 which I would like to upgrade with additional
>memory and an internal hard drive. Two questions:
> 1. Is the built in power supply and cooling fan adequate for
> this?
A positive "maybe". Some ST power supplies are right on the money, and
any additional drain will result in weird crashes. ST's were not
designed with internal HD's in mind. I bought a great external from D&P
Computer Supply. ICD Advantage host adaptor, 85mb Seagate SCSI drive,
nice enclosure which has the mount (and the cables) for a second device,
lit power button, removable power cord, etc all for $574. I think the
price has gone down to $539. I am very pleased with this drive.
Quality and phone support were superb. I highly recommend the ICD host
adaptor in any drive you buy. Their software is much better than
Atari's, and is reportedly better than BMS's. The D&P number is 800-535
-4290.
> 2. Does the internal hard drive interfere with the SLM804?
Very possibly. My disk (actually the ICD host adaptor) has a "pass
thru" port on it which one would use with the Atari laser. I am not
sure how this could be implemented on an internal unit (by the way, ICD
makes the internal host adaptor used by Toad and others).
>I ask the second question because on a visit to Toad Computers a couple
>of months ago, I was told that you couldn't use the laser printer with
>Toad's internal drives. They didn't know if this was a problem with
>other drives.
I have compared my unit to a Toad, and my enclosure was made better.
However, Toad seems to be offering two different enclosures now (perhaps
they are using this one :-).
>I need to replace the external Supra 30 drive, because it's dying for
>the third time in less than three years... Since the machine only
>runs on weekends, that came out to a mean-time-between-failures
>of something like 300 hours!
You might want to consider purchasing a new SCSI unit and ICD host and
putting them into your Supra case (new cables also, of course). Get an
electrician to check the power supply (to make sure it is not the
culprit). This would basically replace everything except the case/power
supply, so this should fix the problem. The ICD is much better than the
Supra host adaptor, both hardware and software.
>Thanks for the help!
You are welcome.
The above is IMHO, I am not connected with Toad, D&P, Supra, etc in any
way.
---------------------------------+-------------------------------------
Mickey R. Boyd | "Kirk to Enterprise. All clear
FSU Computer Science | down here. Beam down
Technical Support Group | yeoman Rand and a six-pack . ."
email: boyd@nu.cs.fsu.edu |
---------------------------------+-------------------------------------
Date: 1 Oct 91 14:21:18 GMT
>From: dc@uunet.uu.net (David Channing)
Subject: Install an app for two diff filetypes, term with IBM graphics
option?
(Ryan 'Gozar' Collins) writes:
> 1. Is there anyway to install an application for more than one
filetype? Well, it won't let you do that under 1.4 :*( So I tried to
edit the desktop.inf file adding the required lines to install the
application for two filetypes. Well, my ST just crashed on boot up...
You must have messed up your desktop.inf file editing it. Here are the
relevant lines from my desktop.inf which works with no problems:
#F FF 04 C:\BIN\ARCLOAD.PRG@ *.ARC@
#F FF 04 C:\BIN\ARCLOAD.PRG@ *.LZH@
#F FF 04 C:\BIN\ARCLOAD.PRG@ *.ZOO@
---------------------------------------
Date: 1 Oct 91 14:50:20 GMT
>From: dhbutler@arizona.edu (David Butler)
Subject: GCR SPECTRE problem
get@coax.Central.Sun.COM writes:
>I have an Atari 520 with 1 meg memory and a 45 meg hard drive. I have
about 15 meg partitioned for the mac and have loaded several pieces of
software onto the drive using my floppy drives (both double density).
Lately I can't do anything with the floppy drives when doing mac
emulation. The system will not read or format eighter drives. I ran
the test on the drives and get an error. All the stuff on my hard drive
works fine. Any suggestions???
It could be a couple of problems I've heard about (and experienced).
First I would try using SPECTRE format disks, not MAC format, and see if
they work. To format a Spectre disk under MAC mode, insert a disk and
"ERASE DISK" (if it is already formatted): The key is to hold down the
shift key, OR the right mouse button (depending upon you setup the right
button is your shift key also) while you click in the final "TWO SIDED"
button, or the "OK" button (may be something else depending on what
version of the system you are using). If this does not work, then no
idea whatsoever what the problem could be, except for 1) really cheap
crap disks (I had this problem with bulk disks) 2) some problem with
the software installation, try reinstalling the software.
Now... If the machine uses ST and SPECTRE disks perfectly, then it is
probably in the GCR (I hear some model after-market drives don't work
properly, but since you said it worked for a while, this should not be
the problem). It could be two problems that I know of: 1) Your drives
need the potentiometer in the GCR adjusted 2) You need to shield your
drives (I have never heard of this problem except with megas (like
mine), but you never know)
To fix the first problem, open up the GCR itself, there is a little
potentiometer with a slot for a screwdriver in the top. This can be
rotated GENTLY in either direction. It has a definite stopping point,
so don't force it. Run the GCR test, and adjust the pot (I suggest
going clockwise first, this seems to fix most of them) each time it goes
through an entire check (don't use the quick check, and make SURE you
use a very good brand of disk, SONY or 3M... The new BASF disks are no
longer of the same quality, don't use them). Do not adjust the pot
except after each test, or you will never figure out the problem. When
the test checks out, leave it there! It may not have a position that
checks out 100% for both drives, so pick one (I suggest the internal
one) and just test it. The other drive should still be able to use
Spectre disks fine, even if it won't use MAC disks.
The second problem is harder to fix. I tried to shield an external
drive once, with no luck at all. I suggest doing it to the internal
drive, even though you have to open up your machine. I did this in a
mega, and am not familiar in the least with the internals of the smaller
machines. I used aluminum foil, and wrapped the drive itself (leave the
back open for cooling if possible), the data wires, and the power wires
in it. I then wrapped grey (duct) tape around the data and power wires
completely, to prevent shorts. I made damn sure the foil around the
drive could not come off and short anything out. Ever since I did this
my drive works 100% great with all good brands diskettes, but still gets
problems with cheaper ones occasionally. Megas have crappy shielding!
You will probably have to shield the drive and then put the entire
machine back together before it will work properly, at least I did.
If neither of these things help, take your GCR to another machine and
test it.
There is a possibility that it is the GCR itself, Gadgets is very good
with service, and will probably have a new one out to you within a week
of receiving your bad one...
Disclaimer: IF YOU TRY ANY OF THIS AND SCREW THINGS UP, IT IS YOUR
FAULT, NOT MINE! IF YOU ARE NOT THE ADVENTURESOME TYPE, HAVE A
PROFESSIONAL DO YOUR DRIVE SHIELDING!
Good Luck - David Butler -
Date: 2 Oct 91 15:03:44 GMT
>From: dhbutler@arizona.edu (David Butler)
Subject: Help & Hints on setting up GCR please.
(Dave Halliday) writes:
>I have just ordered a Spectre GCR cartridge and am after any
information or insights anyone can give. I will mainly be using the
system for writing documents using MS Word. (I assume this will work?)
Some of the questions I have are: 1) What Version of the Mac system
software is recommended and why.
Depends on what you want. 6.0.5 has sound, but 6.0.7 has True Type, I
use 6.0.7 with no problems, and would recommend it to "serious users".
Less serious users may want to use 6.0.5 so they can have all those
nifty sounds that will drive everyone else crazy.
>2) What inits etc. do you recommend.
Too many to list, the important ones are (and some are really more than
just INITS & CDEVS, but I'll list them anyway).
1) ATM (Adobe Type Manager, like true type, but faster and better)
2) True Type (need 6.0.7, not as good as ATM, but includes the system
fonts, which is nice)
3) Access PC
4) Init CDEV 3.0
5) Disk Light (you have to buy Norton Utilities)
6) Everything else with Norton
7) Suitcase II
8) Boomerang
9) Windows
10) Windchooser
>3) What about printout to an Epson FX printer (Normally I will save the
file as PostScript and print on a laser so quality is not an important
factor.)
In the manual that came with your GCR there is a listing for GDT
Softworks in Washington DC, call them and get their Epson drivers, they
are the best ones.
>4) What other applications work well with GCR? Particularly an Object
Orientated drawing package like EasyDraw on the ST.
Every major application works on the GCR. I recommend UltraPaint, it
has a great set of paint and draw features, that can be combined.
Generally, the Mac drawing software is better than the ST, but you will
be limited to B&W (really 8 colors, but you won't see them) when using
the GCR. If you want Postscript, there is Aldus Freehand and Adobe
Illustrator (I like Illustrator better).
>5) Since I am happy with my ST setup I would like to minimize the
amount of time that I have to resort to the GCR so is there any program
that can write MS Word compatible files? Or is there a converter for
say That's Write To MS Word?
As far as I know there is no ST word processor that is compatible with
and Mac word processor except through text files. Why get an ST word
processor if you have the GCR? Word processing is one area in which the
Mac really shines, beats the ST software hands-down. Try Write Now or
Nisus, Write Now is faster and less complex, but Nisus has features to
blow your mind (far better than MS Word, and it does write MS Word
files). Really, these are as far above ST word processors as an ST is
above a calculator (a cheap one anyway).
>I am thinking of buying a new ST Word processor (I currently use First
Word) what do you recommend bearing in mind that I would like it to be
MS Word compatible.
See Above
>I am aware of MS Write but this program is a bit buggy and does not
even have a spell checker. (As I think you can see I realy need one.)
Everything on the Mac comes with Spelling checkers and generally a
Thesaurus. MS Word does not have a good spell-checker OR thesaurus, but
it does have them. Try WriteNow or Nisus (trust me :-). Buy them from
somewhere with a good return policy in case you really hate them...
>6) How do you recommend that I go about backing up my Mac partition.
Get a Mac HD backup program (I think Norton has one, but I don't
remember), they all (at least, all the ones I have tried) work fine as
long as you use MAC format disks and not Spectre format disks.
---------------------------------------
Date: 2 Oct 91 14:32:59 GMT
>From: dhmolde.no!edb02@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (Torbjorn Ose)
Subject: MegaSte compatibility problems
>Most of my old PD programs do NOT work with my new Mega Ste. I've been
told that any program that did not strictly follow the Atari programming
guidelines and 'cheated' will probably not work with the new 2.01
MegaSte TOS.
This is not true, most 'old-tos' programs works. The only programs I've
found NOT to work on my 4meg MegaSTe (Tos 2.05) are those who:
1. checks the TOS version number. (They obviously don't know about
2.05) Example: Laser C. They typically come up with a "Does not work
with this TOS version" message.
2. use undocumented system variables or ROM addresses. Atari may tell
you that these programs 'cheated', but in the old days you HAD to cheat!
Most of these programs didn't work with 1.6 or 1.62 either...
3. look at $fc0000+ for TOS version numbers etc.. The ROM is located at
$e00000 on STE machines.
4. try to access memory above $400000. (Like any disk with the Medway
Boys II bootsector). This does of course stop these programs from
working on ANY 4 meg machine. Use any decent viruskiller to replace the
bootsector.
5. use badly coded sync-protection methods (a few demos, and a couple
of games). Check out the bootsector in the latest Lost Boys demo for an
example of a working sync-protection. (I think it was the Lost Boys
demo, but it could have been any of the latest demos...) Remove the
protection and they usually work.
Except for the shifter-bug I'm very happy with my MegaSTe, and program
compatibility has not been much of a problem.
----------------------------------------
Date: 3 Oct 91 21:40:06 GMT
>From: boyd@uunet.uu.net (Mickey Boyd)
Subject: Mega2 questions
Kenneth W Samson writes:
>I have three questions for those out there that have Mega2s...
>2) I know that Mega2 will go to 4 meg of memory, but will it go all the
way to 16 with standard simms on the motherboard?
This is not true. Some Mega2's have the traces and sockets for more
memory (none of them use SIMMS, by the way). Some have the traces, but
no sockets. The newer ones not only have no traces or sockets, but they
have an MMU that only allows for 2mb. You can upgrade any Mega2 with a
third-party board, but you may need a new MMU also (they are not all
that expensive). Four megabytes is all the Mega's can handle unless you
do strange things (which would undoubtedly cause a lot of software to
bomb). Dave small reports that he has a 16meg 1040 for Spectre testing
purposes.
Also, I read once that there are a select few Mega2's out there that
have 4 megs in them, but are jumpered (or trace-cut) to only access
2megs. The reason for this (reputedly) is that if a Mega4 fails quality
control, they jump/cut it and test it as a Mega2. If it works, it gets
packed up and sold. One poster to this group (about two years ago, I
seem to remember) was shocked to find this out. After tracing down the
bad chip, he replaced it and un-jump/cut the motherboard to get a Mega4.
Ahh, the stuff dreams are made of . . .
---------------------------------+-------------------------------------
Mickey R. Boyd | "Come to your senses professor
FSU Computer Science | Fernberg. You did not transcend
Technical Support Group | the time-space continuum. You
email: boyd@nu.cs.fsu.edu | got drunk in a topless bar."
---------------------------------+-------------------------------------
=======================================================================
* Z*NET SOFTWARE SHELF by Ron Berinstein
=======================================================================
Revisions and updates are an important part of maintaining a software
library. One of the advantages that public domain and shareware
software provides, is that it is not often necessary to send in your
original program disk in order to get the latest version of a file. So,
dust off your modem, make sure the phone bill is paid, and get set to
upgrade away!
TOOLS1.ARC is ST Tools V.1.5 Features
include listing of directory
trees, files in directories, hex dump of files, disk sectors and memory,
searching by ascii or hex in files, sectors and memory. New features
include the option to have TWO directory trees displayed at one time, a
check file structure function, and the opportunity to log all output
displays to a disk file.
LZH201G.ARC This is a new version of Quester's LHARC program. Unlike
previous versions, it has all English language prompts and Docs. The
LHARC.TTP file in the archive is packed using PKPAK, which is also
included in the archive. The file may be decompressed with this
program. Tested on TT/030 in ST medium/high resolutions, and TT medium
res.
GENIE_1.DRV This file is a new GEnie driver for Stalk the Market
Version 2.0. This rev'n accomodates some menu number changes GEnie made
on October 1,1991. If your current driver displayed "Turn on Scroll..."
during the GEnie Closing Quotes download, it will no longer work
properly: this version goes into your DRIVERS folder (replacing the old
Closing Quotes driver).
CALPRN.ARC Calendar Printer allows you to quickly print a calendar for
any month in any year between 1900 and 3000. The calendars produced fit
on an 8.5 x 11 inch page. Large boxes allow appointments, notes, and
other information to be recorded. This version (1.02) fixes a bug from
the 06 Oct. 1991 upload. One small feature that has not been revised is
that the programmer still allows US to make Appointments in the year
3000! Just who is he kidding? <smile>
SAT401.ARC This is an improved version of the Satellite Prediction
Program. A couple of bugs have been fixed, more control over printing
of orbital data has been added, and the ability to check for near-misses
has been added. This program is for use in predicting the position
(tracking) of satellites. The program will display in real time the
positions of satellites. This is good. You never know when you're
going to tired, hungry, and just plain without the time necessary to
carelessly run into a satellite by accident, and possibly bend up your
fender! :)
EDHAKDEM.LZH This is a revised DEMO of EdHak 2.2. Besides some bug
fixes, it also includes Tab <=> Space conversion. This is based on
EdHak v 2.25. Basically, version 2.2 adds compatibility for all TT
resolutions, faster text display, better hooks for other programmers to
make use of EdHak from their own application, and other nice touches.
Plus more!
MD33UPGR.ARC This archive contains everything you need to upgrade
CodeHead's MultiDesk Deluxe 3.1, 3.1a, or 3.2 to the new version 3.3.
MultiDesk Deluxe 3.3 now features greatly improved compatibility with
Neodesk 3.02, several bug fixes that boost compatibility with other DAs
and applications, and even an important new feature! In case you
haven't looked into MultiDesk Deluxe, take the time to do so. It now
allows you to give the memory that the accessories would have taken, a
vacation.
MUSICLST.ARC Newer version of "Sound Master." Lots of bug fixes, and
now tri-res. This program displays a piano on-screen, and lets you play
it with the mouse. You can then replay it, save it for further editing,
or save it as a GFA basic .LST file. This is a Public Domain program.
SCRUB.ARC Scrub ST permanently removes files from discs. It is an
excellent tool to make certain that deleted files remain deleted.
Continuing to unite and interest many is the "GFA way." Strong
supporters and fans of GFA are everywhere, and knowing that elections
are upcoming, I thought it might be nice to try and gain favor with this
growing group of ST programmers. The following files I hope will be of
interest!
RCS1.ARC Contains some tips and examples showing how to deal with
resources in GFA Basic.
MENU.ARC Contains some tips and examples showing how to deal with
menus in GFA Basic.
3RPICS.ARC contains three pictures created using the RRTRACER.PRG.
They were posted as an example of the program's ability to create
pictures with realistic colours, shading, shadows, reflections, and
transparent objects. Three low resolution Degas format pictures are in
the file.
A_M_DEMO.LZH This is a DEMO of Animaster, an animation package with
many features specifically for GFA Basic users. Also included are some
sprites from 'Prince of Persia' and GFA source to animate them to show
what you can do with the program.
For those looking in additional directions for ST languages...
PROLOG.ARC This is a full implementation of the Prolog language for
the ST. It comes from Germany and includes a documentation file in
German. It has access to ST's VDI routines for drawing to screen. Any
book on Prolog can be used to study and use this program. MONOCHROME
ONLY Docs in German, some source in English.
So, you have a girl friend in a foriegn country and you're trying your
best to write her a letter on your ST, but you can't quite find the
right words?
EXTAKEY.ARC Might help. Enter foreign characters with this accessory.
It allows you to compose one or a string of characters from the entire
Atari set, and then have them entered into the program you are running
as if they were typed on the keyboard.
Two "Form Feeders" this week!
DC_FF.ARC features "DC FormFeed" -- An AUTO folder program that lets
you use a keypress to send a form feed to your printer.
FORMF.ARC is "FormFeed," a desk accessory that ejects pages from
printers by sending an ASCII formfeed command to the printer. Useful to
eject partial pages printed from the desktop or small blocks of text
from some programs and for laser printer users (especially the SLM804 in
Diablo mode). This is version 1.0
And this programmer didn't just complain, he took the bull by the horns,
and fixed the problem! Now, if he could only operate on my bank
account! <smile>
EYE_ONLY.ACC was posted because the uploader was distressed when he
d/l'd the file "Foureyes" a while back, only to find that it did not
have a compiled version, and contained only the source code. Lucky for
all, he had bought Turbo Assembler a short while ago... and so here is
the compiled program for those without the means to compile it
themselves!
We here at the shelf are REAL happy that the WAACE show was so
successful! Add that note to the popularity that Glendale had, and
you've got two real big success stories back to back! And, by the way,
if at WAACE you happened to stop by for a disk at the GEnie booth, they
are advising you to run a virus killer on it, to make sure that a
harmless virus, possibly on it, doesn't spread to other disks.
The above files were compiled by Ron Berinstein co-sysop CodeHead
Quarters BBS (213) 461-2095 from files that were either directly
uploaded to CodeHead Quarters BBS, or downloaded from GEnie, Compuserve,
and Delphi online services.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To sign up for GEnie service call (with modem) (800) 638-8369. Upon
connection type HHH and hit <return>. Wait for the U#= prompt and type
XJM11877,GEnie and hit <return>.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To sign up for CompuServe service call (with phone) (800) 848-8199. Ask
for operator #198. You will be promptly sent a $15.00 free membership
kit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Z*Net International Atari Online Magazine is a weekly publication
covering the Atari and related computer community. Material published
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Z*NET (International) Atari Online Magazine
Copyright (c)1991, Rovac Industries, Inc...
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